tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49560850194824605762018-08-12T01:34:39.570-07:00My Search for a HomeCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125MySearchForAHomehttps://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-88928601143538977802018-05-15T11:08:00.002-07:002018-05-15T11:08:09.419-07:00£1 for a house in the UKOver in the UK there is sad little neighbourhood which is down on its luck and previous residents have been unable to sell their homes and just abandoned them. To rectify the bad situation the local city council has made an interesting offer to possible new residents by agreeing to sell the new residents a house for just 1 British pound.<br /><br />The offer of £1 house does sound pretty tempting, but it does come with some string attached.<br /><br /><ol><li>The new owner must live in the house for 10 years.</li><li>The new owner is expected to somehow help the community to blossom again.</li><li>The 2nd part won't be easy as the area is known to be a high crime region and there is a lot of youth drug addiction, so it is not ideal for people with teenage children.</li></ol><br /><center><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B1rxdPePTj8" width="560"></iframe><br /></center><br />This is not the first time some neighbourhoods around the world have done such actions.<br /><br />In Detroit after the financial collapse it was possible to buy a house for $1 USD, but you also had to pay the back taxes on the land that the previous owner had refused to pay. Since then the city of Detroit has been forgiving some or most of the back taxes because even then people are unwilling to buy the property.<br /><br />In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada a company in the village of Whycocomagh offered to give people free land (2 acres) and a job on the island, but there was some strings attached to the deal of course. The Farmer's Daughter grocery store needed people to work there, but most young people in the area were leaving Cape Breton and nobody was willing to come work there. Needing the people to labour there, the owners of Farmer's Daughter sweetened the deal by offering free land to anyone who came and worked for them for 5 years or more.<br /><br />If they stayed on at the store for five years, the two acres is theirs for free — as long as they cover legal costs to transfer the deed.<br /><br />The truth is there is lots of places around the world where someone can buy a house (or build a house) very cheaply, and live there. The true challenge is the local cost of living and whether a person can find work locally (or work online).<br /><br />One such place is Spain, which has seen many villages become abandoned during the past few decades.<br /><br />It is now possible for someone to easily buy an abandoned home in Spain, cheaply, and then all they have to do is repair it. No string attached.<br /><br />Well maybe one string. You still need to be able to find work locally. Proof that the cost of land is so often tied to economics.<br /><br /><center><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eSFSiXiinnc" width="560"></iframe><br /></center><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/tVER4fL_U90" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2018/05/1-for-house-in-uk.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-16928175212658297542018-05-06T11:25:00.000-07:002018-05-06T11:25:12.950-07:00Why is Project Gridless more popular?Okay so here is the thing, I have multiple blogs. Quite a few in fact and I really should get rid of a few that I don't update that often.<br /><br /><b>My Search for a Home</b> has a sibling blog called "<a href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/" target="_blank"><b>Project Gridless</b></a>" which is about off the grid living, covering everything from off grid real estate to gardening to fishing to hunting to survivalism to various outdoor activities associated with off grid living.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--VUrrS1V9uM/WutVXDU2q2I/AAAAAAAAmlo/540hQ2ahLSkykGgwa2ffm7tnyeLfsTRXACLcBGAs/s1600/Kassai%2BHorse%2BArchery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="720" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--VUrrS1V9uM/WutVXDU2q2I/AAAAAAAAmlo/540hQ2ahLSkykGgwa2ffm7tnyeLfsTRXACLcBGAs/s320/Kassai%2BHorse%2BArchery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My dream home frankly would be to have an off grid horse farm where I could raise horses, go riding regularly and do lots of archery outdoors (and open a horse riding / equestrian archery school). So that is my dream home right there, and it would be amazing.<br /><br />Years ago I did my whole "Quest for a Condo" and it never really panned out. Now I am married, I have a son, and I have different priorities. Raising my son on a horse farm would be a dream come true.<br /><br />So it should probably come as no surprise to you the reader that <b>Project Gridless</b>, being nearer and dearer to my dreams, has also seen a lot more blog posts.<br /><br />A hundred more in fact.<br /><br />As of today, <b>My Search for a Home</b> has 185 posts (186 if you count this one I am writing right now).<br /><br /><b>Project Gridless</b> meanwhile has 285 posts. A testament to me spending a lot more time writing on the various topics that have made Project Gridless popular.<br /><br /><b>How about popularity is </b><b><b>Project Gridless</b>?</b><br /><br />Sadly I am not quite sure. There is a glitch in the <b>My Search for a Home </b>blog statistics that says there was way more hits than there really was. So I need to use a different measuring stick.<br /><br />Instead the reason why I know <b>Project Gridless</b> is more popular is because of the Google advertising revenue, which has thus far been 5 times more profitable than its sibling website.<br /><br />So does this mean I will be getting rid of <b>My Search for a Home</b> ?<b></b><br /><br />Doubtful. Too many of the topics in it pertain to specific aspects of the real estate industry that I cannot simply export it and import it and make it part of Project Gridless.<b> </b>Many of the posts would end up being off topic.<br /><br />If I made a different blog that includes real estate as a topic, maybe then it would be better. But then it wouldn't be a niche topic any more and could end up being a website that is too broad a topic.<br /><br />There are other blogs I should probably get rid of. The rarely updated, seldom used blogs that could be exported and imported to a more popular blog that is on the same or similar topic. But I don't think this one is one of those.<br /><br />So for now I am keeping this one.<br /><br />And maybe someday "My Quest for a Condo" will transform into "My Quest for a Horse Farm". Whatever. It is fine by me.<br /><br />Want to have some fun? Go Google the following:<br /><br /><b>horse farm for sale ontario</b><br /><br />There is even a real estate website just for horse farms at <cite class="iUh30">horsefarmsontario.com</cite>. Pretty nice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><cite class="iUh30"></cite><br /><cite class="iUh30"><br /></cite><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UszcgviiOxo/WuteBCS9TpI/AAAAAAAAml4/69SgPVaiiXEM5IC7bEs53f3z8SleKMQcACLcBGAs/s1600/Horse%2BFarm%2BOntario.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UszcgviiOxo/WuteBCS9TpI/AAAAAAAAml4/69SgPVaiiXEM5IC7bEs53f3z8SleKMQcACLcBGAs/s400/Horse%2BFarm%2BOntario.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><cite class="iUh30"><br /></cite><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/5tZT9vrCgW8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2018/05/why-is-project-gridless-more-popular.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-54488721027869914702018-05-03T11:25:00.001-07:002018-05-03T11:25:01.594-07:00Demand for real estate lawyers goes up as Toronto home prices plummet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MyqjPQxhfsQ/WutO-a4HpUI/AAAAAAAAmlY/R7ino-vR5R4CTo8XywiXm29LiBYa60RAQCLcBGAs/s1600/Real%2BEstate%2BLegal%2BMatters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MyqjPQxhfsQ/WutO-a4HpUI/AAAAAAAAmlY/R7ino-vR5R4CTo8XywiXm29LiBYa60RAQCLcBGAs/s1600/Real%2BEstate%2BLegal%2BMatters.jpg" /></a></div>Imagine you are selling your Toronto home for $1.1 million and suddenly the buyer who already agreed to buy your home changes their mind, despite various bits of paperwork already being signed.<br /><br />The reason? The home prices in Toronto have been dropping dramatically and some buyers have become wishy-washy on the whole buying idea when they see falling prices.<br /><br />This happened to one seller. They were in the process of selling their home for $1.1 million, and the buyer changed their mind.<br /><br />Months later when the seller finally did sell their home it was for little more than $800,000. So they lost $300,000 in that failed transaction. Or 37.5% of the value of the house. That is a huge drop.<br /><br />So they tried to recoup their losses by suing the buyer who had pulled out by hiring a real estate lawyer, but that failed too. Was their real estate lawyer just not good enough? Or did they just have a weak case?<br /><br />Whatever the situation, and it truly does vary from case to case, real estate lawyers in Toronto are suddenly in more demand as home sales continue to drop.<br /><br />Sales data from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) shows the average home sold for $804,584 in the Greater Toronto Area in April 2018, a 12-per-cent drop from $918,184 in April last year, when the market hit a record peak before beginning a steep slide in May 2017.<br /><br />So that is the average. Not everyone experiences a 37.5% drop in value.<br /><br />Still a 12% drop is significant.<br /><br />Prices can also change dramatically from month to month, as can volume. Total number of sales in January, for example, were down 24% compared to December on a seasonally adjusted basis. Total sales fell 9% in February compared to January, and sales were down 1.4% in March compared to February, based on seasonally adjusted numbers.<br /><br />So taken together, volume of sales is down 34.4% just in the December to March period, despite seasonal adjustments.<br /><br />Volume is drying up as many homeowners have apparently decided low prices means this is a bad time to sell, so the only people selling are those people who really want to sell in a hurry.<br /><br />Which is probably why that one seller took only $800,000 when it was $1.1 million months earlier. Is that really the buyer's fault for getting cold feet? Or was the seller just in a hurry to sell? Clearly it was the latter. They could have simply refused to sell. <br /><br />Thus the seller might have had a better case if they had waited longer to sell and not accepted such a huge dip in the offer. A good real estate lawyer probably would have warned them against selling too soon.<br /><br />Below is a video by Toronto real estate lawyer Stephen Shub - this is not an endorsement of his legal practice, I am just posting his video as an example of what real estate lawyers do. In the video Shub describes some of the services that real estate lawyers provide.<br /><br /><center><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_UUPuTVQ1Es" width="560"></iframe><br /></center><br /><b>So who is the best real estate lawyer in Toronto?</b><br /><br />Honestly. Hard to say.<br /><br />It is probably not Stephen Shub. There are probably hundreds of other real estate lawyers who are better than him. I have no idea. Just guessing. I just like his video, despite his somewhat awkward manner of talking to the camera and the bad editing.<br /><br />Googling "toronto real estate lawyer" won't tell you who is the best either. The people at the top of the search rankings are probably just the people who hired the best SEO experts to do their online advertising.<br /><br />Yelp? Filled with fake yelp reviews.<br /><br />Google Maps/Business? Also filled with fake reviews.<br /><br />I do think I have a solution however...<br /><br />Don't use the regular Google search. Use the Google News Search, find the name of a lawyer who has been in the news and recently won a case. Then search only that lawyer's name in Google News and see if there are other news articles talking about legal cases that lawyer has won.<br /><br />It may not be the way to find the "best lawyer in Toronto", but it should find you a lawyer who wins cases - including high profile cases.<br /><br />So for example I did a Google News search for Stephen Shub and only 1 article came up from April 23rd 2018:<br /><br />https://www.thestar.com/business/2018/04/16/condo-buyers-want-100000-and-an-explanation-after-liberty-developments-killed-cosmos-condos-a-real-estate-lawyer-says.html<br /><br />In the article Stephen Shub is not winning a case, he is just commenting on a condo development that disappointed buyers when the builder killed the development.<br /><br />Does that make him a good lawyer? Just commenting on a prospective case? Not really.<br /><br />I found the names of other real estate lawyers...<br /><br /><ul><li>Tim Duggan</li><li>Bob Aaron</li><li>Lawrence McLawyerson</li></ul><br />Okay, so that last one I made up. But the first two were real.<br /><br />Tim Duggan appears in multiple news articles. I didn't bother to read them all.<br /><br />Bob Aaron appears in a whole bunch of news articles. A ridiculous amount. The news media loves mentioning him.<br /><br />So from that perspective Bob Aaron looks pretty good. He is at least getting a lot of media attention. Is he winning cases though?<br /><br />I don't know. I didn't bother to read anything more than the headlines. There was a LOT of news articles mentioning him though... hopefully they are mostly positive about his reputation.<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Do you know a Toronto real estate lawyer that you would recommend? Post their name in the comments. Please do NOT post links to their websites. I do not allow spammy links.</b><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/piytGUvNgUs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2018/05/demand-for-real-estate-lawyers-goes-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-101999309444759772018-04-15T12:40:00.003-07:002018-04-15T12:40:42.951-07:00Toronto Home Sales Drop in March 2018No comment.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lz8J48t3QU8" width="560"></iframe></center><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/XpaHsvaayL8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2018/04/toronto-home-sales-drop-in-march-2018.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-20768536572523007142018-01-21T21:56:00.001-08:002018-01-21T21:56:06.324-08:00Real Estate Investing, Energy Trading and Red Paper ClipsToday I want to talk about several different things.<br /><br />#1. Kyle MacDonald, aka the guy who traded a Red Paper Clip until he eventually got a house. See the video below:<br /><br /><center><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8s3bdVxuFBs" width="560"></iframe><br /></center><br /><b>Kyle MacDonald</b> became noteworthy years ago for starting with a red paper clip and trading it for a pen, which he traded for bigger and better things until he eventually ended up owning a house in Canada.<br /><br />In a way this idea of trading things for something bigger and better is a bit like how the stock market works. You trade cash for stocks when they have a lower value, you sell it for a higher value, then you buy different stocks for a lower value which you then sell for a higher value... then maybe you buy gold at a time when gold prices are soaring, then you sell the gold and buy other stocks which are showing growth... and you repeat this process again and again until you have a multiplied the amount of money you started off with many times over.<br /><br />That is the theory at least. The problem is how do you guarantee the things you invest in go up in value?<br /><br />#2. Energy Trading, which involves trading electricity with other regions in order to provide electricity to customers at a cheaper rate.<br /><br />Energy trading can also relate to oil and natural gas, selling it or buying it. So for natural gas, commonly used in residential home heating, it again comes back to the idea of trying to save money and pass those savings unto the customers who are buying the natural gas. With oil it is going to refineries and later made in gasoline, diesel, petrochemicals, and even plastics. So that translates into different prices at the gas pumps and also effecting the petrochemical / plastics industries.<br /><br />In Ontario, Canada our electricity grid has to produce a surplus of 10% more power constantly in order to prevent brown outs / shortages of electricity. (I learned this during a brief stint of working for an electricity / natural gas distributor in Toronto.)<br /><br />Ontario then sell that surplus of electricity to New York State, Michigan, Quebec and other neighbouring regions. In the USA they use a similar system of trading electricity between various states, allowing each region to produce surplus electricity, but also to be able to sell their surplus electricity at a discount to neighbouring regions. This way no region suffers brownouts and ultimately the various regions can save money on the cost of electricity.<br /><br />See the video below in which <b>Gustavo Luna</b> from Bismarck, North Dakota explains how energy trading works.<br /><br /><center><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qtuWRVsF59E" width="560"></iframe><br /></center><br />Energy Trading should not be confused with Commodities Trading - which focuses on buying oil for example at a lower price and selling it for a profit. With Energy Trading, the goal is to buy surplus electricity at a cheaper rate and then pass off those savings to consumers. So you are not making a profit, you are simply saving money for consumers.<br /><br />Or at least that is my understanding of it. Gustavo Luna would probably be disappointed by my simplistic explanation.<br /><br />#3. Real Estate Investment / Flipping Properties - which is really my primary topic today. (You are probably wondering what the above two ideas have to do with the third, but don't worry I am getting. I just have to make sure the readers are aware of everything before I get to my idea.)<br /><br />There are a number of ways people can invest in real estate.<br /><ul><li>Buy a property for the investment, rent it out for years, sell it later for a profit when the real estate prices in the region skyrocket.</li><li>Buy a property, renovate the property in ways that will boost its resale value, then sell it ASAP for a profit. At which point you buy another property, renovate it, and sell it again.</li><li>Invest your money with a company that invests in real estate (office buildings, etc) and churns a profit from the rentals and later sales of properties. That company collects their percentage and you get a percentage while they do all the work, but you are the one taking the risk.</li><li>Buy mortgage securities on the stock market from banks and sell them later for a profit. The trick to this is that if you are aware of what happened during the Financial Crisis of 2007-08, you could be buying AAA rated mortgage securities that are actually full of junk mortgages (eg. sub prime mortgages). The problem with the mortgage security industry is that they tend to bundle together junk mortgages and give them together an AAA rating, even though it is junk. It is truly a care of buyer beware.</li><li>Finance the mortgage of a family member - this is quite good because a family member is pretty much guaranteed to pay you back. You can be lenient with the payment schedule, the interest rate, etc if needed, but otherwise it works out quite well. Even if the family member does somehow default on the home, you foreclose on them, keep the money they already paid you and then sell the home for a profit. That is a Win-Win financially for you if they fail to live up to their side of the mortgage agreement. It creates an incentive for the family member to not burn bridges because they know that if they do, you foreclose on the home and make a tonne of money anyway. (The only way you could potentially lose money in this scenario is if the real estate market collapses.)</li></ul><b>So what do these things have to do with each other?</b><br /><br />Well, that is where we get into the fun part.<br /><br />I think there is a future in "real estate trading and investing", wherein people could invest in say "<u>Renovating and Flipping Properties</u>" for example.<br /><br />Idea #1.<br /><br />Lets say you have 10 investors who invest $100,000 each in buying and renovating a house. They do none of the work as part of their investment pays for a contractor who renovated the house. Upon completion they then sell the house for 20% more than what they paid for the property, the taxes, the cost of renovations, etc.<br /><br />Those 10 investors then have $120,000 each, which they could then use to buy and renovate two smaller houses for $600,000 each, which they later sell after the renovations for $720,000 or more each... So each investor then has $144,000 or more.<br /><br />Now if they managed to do all of this is the space of 1 year, that is a 44% increase from their investment.<br /><br />A person could do this individually... and even do the renovation work themselves, and hope they follow the building code. But it actually makes more legal sense to have a contractor do it, have it all in writing in a contract, with liability insurance and everything in case anything goes wrong. But that would require the person who is funding this whole thing to come up with all the money by themselves.<br /><br />In contrast, if people only had to invest one tenth the needed amount, there is more security in numbers as a shared enterprise... and it allows the group to buy larger properties or multiple properties, thus diversifying their investment.<br /><br />Kyle MacDonald for example when he got the house eventually could have renovated himself - or hired a contractor - and later sold the larger house for a profit. Then he takes the money he made, buys a different house, renovates it, sells for a bigger profit... and keeps repeating. He in theory could have gone down that road, but is probably pretty amazed at what he managed to accomplish with just a red paper clip as is.<br /><br />Idea #2.<br /><br />Another way to do this "Read Estate Trading and Investing" idea is to buy up properties that make good rentals (properties that don't need a lot of maintenance costs are ideal), and then rent them out for a profit. Industrial properties are pretty good for this.<br /><br />So for example 10 people buy a warehouse which they then lease out to a company for storage, which allows them to make a tidy income every month on their investment.<br /><br />Individual investors could sell their one tenth share to other people if they later wish to do so, take whatever profit from that sale and then invest in a different property the same way.<br /><br />Idea #3.<br /><br />10 family members finance the mortgage of an eleventh family member. This way each of the 10 family members only have to pay one tenth of the total cost of the home, which they then gain money back + interest each month until the mortgage is paid off. The benefit of this is that there is even more familial pressure on the 11th family member to pay off the mortgage... and failure to do so means the family forecloses, sells the property and collects their profits.<br /><br />Oddly enough something similar to this is already done by Mennonites when buying up farmland for their children. The whole community of Mennonites will pitch in, buy a property for a newlywed husband and wife, have a barn raising, renovate the house, and the property is later paid off.<br /><br />And because Mennonites don't pay taxes they are laughing all the way to the bank. (What you might not know about Mennonites is that because they don't pay taxes, are very industrious and don't spend their money on cars/food/rent/university tuition/etc they end up saving lots of money and ultimately tend to be quite well off financially. They have so little expenses compared to the rest of us and money that goes into the Mennonite community rarely comes back out.)<br /><br />Idea #4.<br /><br /><u>Crowdfunding Property Investment</u><br /><br />Imagine if 50,000 people each invested $200 each. That is $10,000,000 and they use it to buy up multiple properties which they then:<br /><ul><li>Renovate.</li><li>Rent out.</li><li>Sell.</li></ul>Following the same principle as #1, they could make perhaps a 44% increase in value in a single year by buying, renovating and selling properties in this manner.<br /><br />Those people could also sell or trade their share(s) to someone else and invest in other properties instead. They could decide whether they want to invest in small properties, large properties, residential, industrial, rental properties, and more.<br /><br />And they could do all of this via a website which manages it.<br /><br />Idea #5.<br /><br />Website? Why not also an app? A real estate investment and trading app.<br /><br />Move over Bitcoin, you are basically worthless and eventually people are going to realize that Bitcoin is worthless.<br /><br />Real estate however. There is a reason why it is called "Real Estate". It is tangible property.<br /><br />So just imagine this revolutionary way of investing in real estate. One part Kyle MacDonald's Red Paper Clip, one part a bit like energy trading or commodity trading as explained by Gustavo Luna - except this is the buying, selling and trading of real estate.<br /><br />That to me is an interesting and exciting app someone should make.<br /><br />So yeah.<br /><br />There is my idea for an app someone should make. I should start a crowdfunding enterprise just to create the app, with the first people who invest getting both a share of the app and a share of the first property that we invest it.<br /><br />Now you might think, how does one make money off an app like that?<br /><br />Well, easy. You charge 0.1% fee off every sale transaction. So if someone invests $200 and later sells their share for $300, the app takes 30 cents. So 10 cents off each $100. It isn't a lot really, but if you get 50,000 people to invest in the first year, and they later sell off their shares for $250 or more then you are still looking at 25 cents x 50,000.<br /><br />$12,500.<br /><br />If the app grows in popularity and millions of people start investing in real estate this way, that 10 cents per $100 isn't pocket change any more. It is millions.<br /><br /><b>So what is wrong with this idea?</b><br /><br />Well, I am pretty sure there are some laws from the USA that would say that this kind of investing is illegal - <i>because the government also wants their share</i>. The USA would want to tax any transactions and profits happening within the USA.<br /><br />And it would target any real estate assets being bought, renovated and sold in the USA.<br /><br />So any kind of investment in the USA through the app would mean American citizens would be taxed on each transaction, and investing in the USA would be problematic. The app would make more sense in countries which allow this sort of investing and aren't so worried about taxing people who want to invest their money this way.<br /><br />The USA has similar problems with offshore gambling websites. People can buy virtual chips/etc overseas, gamble, possibly win (although most likely they lose it all), and then cash out their chips and never have to pay anything in taxes.<br /><br />Similarly, the USA has other problems with Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. They are hard to track and it becomes unclear if people made a profit by buying and selling things using Bitcoin.<br /><br />So the app and company that runs it would need to be based in the Bahamas, Panama, Ireland or some similar tax haven.<br /><br />And this is where I hit a brick wall in terms of motivation to make this happen myself. It seems like too much work and I have other issues to deal with, rent, bills to pay and a baby to feed.<br /><br />So I am not saying "go ahead and steal this idea". Honestly, I feel like this is definitely my idea and I would be upset if someone stole it and made a profit off it. But I would be willing to sell my idea or become an intellectual property rights partner with someone else if they want to do the leg work on this idea.<br /><br />I currently cannot be bothered to do it all myself.<br /><br /><br />One more idea...<br /><br />I would love to buy a farm, buy horses and open an archery range / horse riding school. I think that is a business worth investing in. I have already done the math on what it would require in terms of investment, how much to charge students, how much to pay the riding instructors, and how much money could be made within the first year. It would be one of the very few places in North America where people could do equestrian archery. (Seriously, go try to find such places and you will find they are few and far between.)<br /><br />One last idea, I swear this is the last one.<br /><br />Start a charity that deals with buying properties for mustang horse sanctuaries. People donate to buy the property, the property is renovated with fences to keep in the horses, and the mustangs are then transported to the property where they can roam freely. This would solve a problem in the American West where mustangs are a problem due to overpopulation and the government culling them because they get on to the properties of ranchers, ruining crops, etc. The people who donate get a voucher they can use on their income taxes, but really it is mostly about giving the mustangs a safe place where they roam without being killed by ranchers or by the government.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/cumvGg3ZpMo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2018/01/real-estate-investing-energy-trading.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-43403569980022280262017-11-09T09:17:00.003-08:002017-11-09T09:17:58.716-08:00Is Toronto's Condo Market Poised to Cool or Collapse?November 9th 2017.<br /><br />So today the CBC posted the following article on their website, but I don't want to talk about the article so much as I do want to talk about the implications of it:<br /><b><br /></b><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b><i>Hundreds of Toronto condo buyers lose homes after developments fail</i></b></blockquote><blockquote><i><br /></i><i>When Tanya Rumble and her partner Josh Kolic heard a new condo development was going up in their Junction neighbourhood, they thought it would be the ideal time and place to buy. After all, they had been renting in the neighbourhood for seven years and loved it.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>The developer, Castlepoint Numa, advertised an exciting new 10-storey condo building on Sterling Road in the Junction Triangle, called Museum FLTS. The building was going to be close to transit, a new park, a daycare and a new contemporary art museum it was also building.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"We got really excited" Rumble explained. "I walked by the sales centre almost every day," she said, hoping to be one of the first people to put down a deposit the moment sales opened.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>She was.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>In May of 2016, Rumble and Kolic signed an agreement to purchase a two bedroom, two bath unit in the 10-storey condo. But as the months dragged on they noticed the project appeared stalled. "Sales staff kept telling us, 'Nothing to be feared. The developer has a great reputation,'" she said.</i><br /><br /><b><i>Unexpected letter came in the mail</i></b><br /><i><br /></i><i>Last week, about 18 months after signing their purchase agreement, the couple got a letter from Castlepoint Numa, along with more than 100 other condo buyers.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>The company returned their deposits, explaining the condo project couldn't get construction financing. The developer also wrote, "we have not secured all of the development approvals or available permits" from the city of Toronto. </i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"We were pretty gutted," Rumble said. "It was quite devastating."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>While the vast majority of condo projects proceed as planned in Toronto, CBC News has learned that more than a handful of proposed projects have failed this year alone, leaving hundreds if not thousands of buyers in limbo.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Many now find themselves priced out of Toronto's red-hot condo market where prices have soared 20 per cent in the last year alone, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.</i><br /><br /><b><i>Developer says lack of financing, permits killed condo</i></b><br /><i><br /></i><i>Castlepoint Numa declined to answer several specific questions about the cancelled project, but in an email, company president Alfredo Romano vowed the condo will get built eventually.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>It will "proceed but only once building permits are available. We can no longer rely on just a zoning bylaw to proceed to market. Only then will a project be 'safe' to go forward." he wrote.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Romano and company officials would not say when that would be, or whether they expect to resell the units to new buyers at higher prices.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>The developer also declined to say whether it would offer the original buyers any discount or incentive once the project is eventually built.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Janice Creighton and her partner, Mike, also bought a condo at Museum FLTS and feels she's now been priced out of the market. "It seems as though there's a risk that you could put your money into something, think that you're in the market," she said, "and they could just take it away from you and resell it for whatever it is when they open it back up again."</i><br /><br /><b><i>Museum FLTS just the latest condo project to fail</i></b><br /><i><br /></i><i>Museum FLTS buyers aren't alone. Hundreds, if not thousands of other pre construction condo buyers have also been left in limbo.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Earlier this year, a project adjacent to the Mimico GO station in Etobicoke was placed into receivership after the developer, Stanton Renaissance, failed to meet its financial obligations. The company owed millions to suppliers and contractors.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>More than 200 of the units in the proposed 27-storey tower had already been sold — some as far back as six years ago.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Today, the site remains only 15 per cent complete. It was recently sold to the Vandyk group of companies. Court records show Vandyk doesn't have to honour the purchase agreements of the original buyers, and it won't.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>On the GO Mimico buyer Arash Borujerdi tells CBC News he still hasn't received his deposit back and fears he's now priced out of Toronto's housing market.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"The process has really set me back in life in terms of becoming a homeowner, as you know the prices have gone up substantially since I purchased," he said.</i><br /><br /><b><i>It doesn't take much for a condo to fail</i></b><br /><i><br /></i><i>Numerous other condo projects in the city have also failed — many due to lack of financing, zoning approvals or other factors. It's happened in Scarborough, North Toronto, and downtown. Hundreds of people who bought proposed condos and townhomes from Urbancorp are still fighting the bankrupt developer in court to recoup some of their losses. Unlike condos, deposits of freehold townhomes aren't protected.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Real estate lawyer Bob Aaron says it doesn't take much for a proposed condo to fail. A developer can simply decide they don't want the hassle of building if profits appear to be diminishing.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"It's always a case of buyer beware," he said.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"Sometimes purchasers think, 'I'm going to make so much money, I don't care about buyer beware, I'll take the risks.' Sometimes when the market gets a little tighter, people are a little more cautious."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Coun. Josh Matlow tabled a motion that was passed at city hall back in 2013, demanding Ontario's Ministry of Government and Consumer Affairs prevent developers from advertising or selling condos that still haven't obtained the necessary permits and approvals.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"Why should people believe all the community meetings, the votes at city council mean anything, if the developer is telling you there is already a predetermined outcome?" Matlow said.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"'Something is coming soon,' they advertise, even though nothing has been voted on."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Matlow says the province has yet to enact any regulations.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>He also says a variety of issues can derail a proposed development, leaving behind financial and other problems for buyers who waited years for nothing.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>As Creighton puts it, "I don't know that I could do pre-construction again knowing that this is the risk. I just kind of wish I had known beforehand that this was something that developers have done before."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Rumble says she and her partner knew buying a pre-construction condo came with risks but "developers are in a position to sell units when they don't have the necessary permits in hand. They can sell us a dream that they don't know if they can materialize."</i></blockquote><br />So...<br /><br />Really what happened is that the developer didn't have enough from people wanting to buy condo units. Lack of people and sales equals lack of financing. So when it came to crucial stages like getting permits to actually start construction, the developer decided to skip the whole project entirely.<br /><br />Now this is just an example of one building, but I see it as evidence of something bigger. A cooling condo market.<br /><br />And at present that is all it is, potentially.<br /><br />As long as Toronto's economy remains strong, I don't currently expect any kind of collapse in condo prices.<br /><br />To get that we would need Toronto to get hit by a recession, in which case the recession could be a tipping point if the economy sours enough to hurt condo sales - at which point then Toronto will be hit by condo and possibly housing market collapse.<br /><br />But seeing as Toronto is not facing any kind of recession, and is not facing any recession in the foreseeable future, then a cooling of the condo market is all it could potentially be.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/bqhbjtKTblU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2017/11/is-torontos-condo-market-poised-to-cool.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-51744810405422291462017-07-18T11:44:00.002-07:002017-07-18T11:46:18.884-07:00What is the best time of year in Toronto to move into a new home?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l8j8cftWU-c/WW5R24kVjSI/AAAAAAAAlCI/lWjRmZogSDk9tgByM6XzF9Jg-IN1Y7ewwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Moving%2BTruck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l8j8cftWU-c/WW5R24kVjSI/AAAAAAAAlCI/lWjRmZogSDk9tgByM6XzF9Jg-IN1Y7ewwCEwYBhgL/s320/Moving%2BTruck.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>July 18th 2017.<br /><br />So my wife and I were discussing recently possibly moving - mostly because we want to get away from an a$$hole neighbour who hears noises/talking when they aren't there and seems to think he can boss us around.<br /><br />The problem however is that moving right now would be inconvenient, for a number of reasons.<br /><br />#1. We have a newborn baby. And exhausted. Sleep is valuable to us.<br /><br />#2. My wife is in law school and that keeps her very busy from September to May roughly.<br /><br />#3. It is currently July, and July and August are the hottest / most humid months of the year.<br /><br />I suppose we could hire movers to do all the work for us, however since neither of us are in the habit of hiring movers, doing it ourselves is our normal routine. Thus it makes sense just to wait.<br /><br />After all movers don't unpack and organize everything once you are settled in to your new home.<br /><br />Which got me thinking... <b>What is the best time of year to move into a new home in Toronto?</b><br /><br />Well, lets start with the following graph, which specifically shows temperatures for Toronto Island (which is slightly cooler than the rest of the city thanks to the Lake Cooling Effect).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-827jdqon1UM/WW5JqTkOfDI/AAAAAAAAlB4/AeJMk0U_dLYztguWbJcr7pKjX-ECwr6CQCLcBGAs/s1600/Toronto%2BAverage%2BTemperature%2BPer%2BMonth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="408" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-827jdqon1UM/WW5JqTkOfDI/AAAAAAAAlB4/AeJMk0U_dLYztguWbJcr7pKjX-ECwr6CQCLcBGAs/s1600/Toronto%2BAverage%2BTemperature%2BPer%2BMonth.png" /></a></div><br />In addition to your personal comfort, the temperature also plays a big role in trying to get friends to help you move. Your list of friends willing to show up and help you move will likely be cut short if it super hot or super cold outside.<br /><br />The graph shows July and August are the hottest months of the year, so lets scratch those off the list right away as being "too hot" to do strenuous exercise like moving.<br /><br />Another problem with July and August is that is the time of year college/university students move in, which means you might also be competing with them for rental space if you are in the apartment market.<br /><br />The chart also shows that December, January, February and March are the coldest times of the year, with the average temperature (the black line) being below 0 most of that time. So lets remove them from the list as well.<br /><br />Another problem with December is that many people are busy with Christmas / various holidays, and thus that makes a bad time of year to move regardless of temperature.<br /><br />Imagine moving in on January 1st, New Years Day... Don't expect any help from friends with the moving process, they are probably all sleeping off a hangover, sleeping in, whatever.<br /><br /><b>What about Rain?</b><br /><br />It might surprise you that in terms of volume it usually rains more in August than any other month of the year, but that volume is on average during 9 days of the month.<br /><br />April and May however have on average 12 rainy days for each of those months.<br /><b><br /></b> <b>Chance of Rain/Snow on the Day you move in...</b><br /><ul><li>January - 48% of Snow Day</li><li>February - 46% of Snowy Day</li><li>March - 42% of Snowy Day</li><li>April - 40% of Rainy Day</li><li>May - 39% of Rainy Day</li><li>June - 30% of Rainy Day</li><li>July - 29% of Rainy Day</li><li>August - 29% of Rainy Day</li><li>September - 33% of Rainy Day</li><li>October - 32% of Rainy Day</li><li>November - 42% of Rainy Day</li><li>December - 45% of Snowy Day</li></ul><br />Thus June arguably ends up being the best time of year if you want to avoid the rain. August is good too, but way too hot. June is still pretty warm however so some people might want to avoid that month.<br /><br />This makes you realize why so many people get married in June, because they want to avoid rain on their wedding day and have a stereotypical warm and sunny "June Wedding".<br /><br />September and October are not bad either for rain, and the temperatures are certainly more comfortably average.<br /><br />If you have children and they are in school, moving to a new school could make September a bad time to move - not so bad if your new home is still in the same neighbourhood and your kids will still be going to the same school.<br /><br />November starts getting both colder and rainier, so lets knock that off the list right now.<br /><br /><b>My personal conclusion?</b><br /><br />October is arguably the best time of year to move into a new home. September is 2nd best. June is 3rd best.<br /><br /><b>Other Factors</b><br /><br />This varies for many people, but lets list a few other factors people might also have to worry about.<br /><ul><li>Work obligations keeping you busy.</li><li>Difficulty booking off vacation time to pack everything / move.</li><li>Family / friend obligations.</li><li>You already planned a vacation during that time period and don't want to cancel.</li><li>&nbsp;Bad time of the year due to miscellaneous personal or financial reason.</li></ul>Obviously hiring a mover speeds everything up, but not everyone trusts movers to:<br /><ul><li>Carry their valuables / breakables.</li><li>Not rip them off*.</li></ul>* In recent years there have been horror stories of movers who held people's personal belongings hostage and demanded a higher amount of money - effectively extorting the client.<br /><br />eg. <span style="color: red;"><i>http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/man-charged-after-toronto-moving-company-allegedly-defrauded-extorted-customers-1.4139985</i></span> is just one news story about people getting ripped off by crooked moving companies.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k78C8s7H_CA/WW5XQQnQG_I/AAAAAAAAlCQ/EipCHrNCyX0NhV_Hs5K7GnqvRgXS1HqaQCLcBGAs/s1600/Crooked%2BMoving%2BCompany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="556" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k78C8s7H_CA/WW5XQQnQG_I/AAAAAAAAlCQ/EipCHrNCyX0NhV_Hs5K7GnqvRgXS1HqaQCLcBGAs/s1600/Crooked%2BMoving%2BCompany.jpg" /></a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/lKHLudNa8y4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2017/07/what-is-best-time-of-year-in-toronto-to.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-63692847088384300632017-04-21T12:17:00.002-07:002017-04-21T12:17:30.399-07:00Rent Control returns to Ontario<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0ZAD2wa8eg/WPpVIM7tb4I/AAAAAAAAkss/LFBa3RXxI_MhDiLxFHXQzvL5BzEivFtUgCLcB/s1600/Toronto-For-Rent-Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0ZAD2wa8eg/WPpVIM7tb4I/AAAAAAAAkss/LFBa3RXxI_MhDiLxFHXQzvL5BzEivFtUgCLcB/s320/Toronto-For-Rent-Sign.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ever since 1991 there has been a loophole that allowed the owners to set and change rents as they saw fit, which meant they could gouge renters for more money if they wanted to.<br /><br />Rent control still applied to buildings that were built prior to 1991, guaranteeing that rentals could not be increased annually by any amount above and beyond the rate of inflation - and was capped at 2.5% even if the rate of inflation was more than that.<br /><br />But new buildings that were built in 1991 or after, did not have rent control.<br /><br />The loophole was created in 1991 in order to encourage property developers to build more rental units. Rent control was considered to be cost prohibitive, ie. not profitable enough. Building rental units made no sense to someone meaning to make a profit, as it would take significant time to finally get back their investment in building the property.<br /><br />So to remedy the problem, the province got rid of rent control for all new buildings that were built after 1991.<br /><br />Unfortunately the industry took advantage of the situation, built lots of condos instead, and then rented them out.<br /><br />And then more recently, renters would see their monthly rent skyrocket to double to whatever they were paying before.<br /><br />eg. Valerie Bruce, a renter living in Liberty Village, recently received a notice saying her rent would double from $1,600 to $3,200, so she decided to move.<br /><br />And she was not alone. Many other Torontonians saw their rent double within the last year, as they are quite literally being squeezed out of the market.<br /><br />Part of the current problem is that vacancies right now are really low. It is currently 1%, the lowest vacancy rate Toronto has seen in 7 years - not since 2010 has it been this low.<br /><br />And when availability is low, prices tend to go up because the demand is high.<br /><br />However doubling the rent on people who already are living in a particular place, well that is just ridiculous. It is that kind of flagrant disregard by landlords that has basically given them a bad rep and caused the provincial government to step in and put a stop to this nonsense - see the <i><b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4956085019482460576#FairHousingPlan">Ontario Fair Housing Plan</a></b></i> below.<br /><br />So it is the fault of landlords for getting greedy in the first place.<br /><br />It is also the fault of real estate developers for taking advantage of the 1991 loophole to build condos between 1991 and 2017, <i>when they were supposed to be building affordable apartment buildings</i>. The purpose of that 1991 loophole was so they would build more affordable apartments, but they didn't build more apartments, they built condos instead - some of which ended up being used for high priced apartments by investors. <i>There was nothing affordable about it at all.</i><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="FairHousingPlan"></a><br /><b>The Ontario Fair Housing Plan</b><br /><ul><li>Expanding rent control to all units, including those built after 1991.</li><li>Annual rent increases for existing tenants can be no higher than the rate of inflation.&nbsp;</li><li>Rent increases will be&nbsp;capped at&nbsp;2.5 per cent, even if the rate of inflation is higher. </li><li>A standard lease will be developed in multiple languages.</li><li>Tenants will be adequately compensated if asked to vacate for "landlord use."</li><li>Change becomes effective as of April 20, regardless of when legislation is passed.</li></ul>That last part means landlords will not be able to raise rent by more than 1.5 per cent this year — the&nbsp;annual provincial rent increase guideline for 2017, which was determined based on the inflation rate in 2016.<br /><br />However, a landlord can raise rent by any amount in between tenant residencies. For example, if one tenant paying $1,600/month chooses to move out of their&nbsp;unit, the landlord can charge the incoming&nbsp;tenant $2,000/month or more. <br /><br />It is also theoretically possible for renters to get in a bidding war if multiple people end up vying for the same unit at the same time.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/mTl4KJL3XNo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2017/04/rent-control-returns-to-ontario.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-51104397152639505112017-02-16T10:26:00.000-08:002017-02-16T10:26:19.417-08:00Toronto in a 1980s Style Housing Bubble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9ieuUJqZevo/UbnzufrC0hI/AAAAAAAAU5g/v6WyZEZJo8AgmqohH4kkYxQ_I5s7N6-qACPcB/s1600/Toronto%2BHousing%2BBubble%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9ieuUJqZevo/UbnzufrC0hI/AAAAAAAAU5g/v6WyZEZJo8AgmqohH4kkYxQ_I5s7N6-qACPcB/s320/Toronto%2BHousing%2BBubble%2B02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter says Toronto is the midst of a housing bubble, and is making comparisons to the housing bubble of the 1980s - which ended in a collapse and a recession.<br /><br />"There’s nothing tentative about the red-hot housing market in Toronto and neighbouring areas," says Porter, in a note out Monday. <br /><br />Porter is referring to the 22 per cent price appreciation of existing homes over last year's prices. He is now predicting a 19 per cent increase in condo prices in the Greater Toronto Area (during 2017) and says to watch for double-digit gains in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. <br /><br />"An apparent influx of foreign wealth, coupled with record-high demand and a shortage of detached properties, are driving the frothiest price increases since the late 1980s. Prices are even accelerating in segments and areas without shortages."<br />&nbsp; <br />"Admittedly, condo supplies in the GTA are down sharply from prior elevated levels, but a record number of units are now under construction…so why the froth?" asks Porter.<br /><br />Porter also notes that Montreal and Ottawa have entered a lengthy period of stagnation, that Alberta is stabilizing.<br /><br />And that there should be "some further softening in Vancouver’s prices", compared to last years 33% increase in Vancouver prices.<br /><br />The national average price for homes sold in January 2017 was $470,253, up only 0.2 per cent from a year ago and carried mostly by sales in Toronto and Vancouver.<br /><br />However if you ignore Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver, the average price of a home in the country is reduced by almost $120,000 to $351,998.<br /><br />Counting adjustments for inflation and the lack of increases in housing prices across most of Canada, the cost of homes across most of Canada is actually going down comparatively. The GTA and GVA are inflating the national average and skewing the results. Which is similar to what happened in the 1980s. The average prices across Canada stagnated and went down first, while Toronto and various cities experienced a real estate bubble.<br /><br />And then the bubble burst, economic chaos and a recession resulted. The stagnation across Canada was basically the canary in the coalmine, warning of the impending disaster.<br /><br /><b>2010s Vs the 1980s, What is Different?</b><br /><br />Toronto and Vancouver's real estate bubbles are now mostly driven by foreign investors. That is what is driving the prices to ridiculous heights. That means that the rest of the country could go into a recession and as long as Toronto/Vancouver's prices continue to balloon upwards, the investors will just keep investing.<br /><br />In British Columbia, Vancouver is trying to curb that by introducing a 15% land transfer tax on foreign investors.<br /><br />In Ontario, Toronto has rejected the idea of a land transfer tax and has embraced the status quo for now...<br /><br />But then Toronto Mayor John Tory announced recently that he would be increasing property taxes in Toronto by 2%.<br /><br />Which gave me an idea.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><i>Don't increase the property taxes for regular Torontonians.</i></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Increase the property taxes for foreign owners of Toronto <u>residential real estate</u> instead</i></span>. By say... 22%. Or more. Perhaps 27%.<br /><br />You will note that this would only effect residential investors.&nbsp; It would still allow for foreign investors in commercial and industrial real estate, which means they are investing in Canada's economy.<br /><br />If the prices of homes in Toronto are going up by 22%, increase the property taxes on foreign owners of by a like amount (plus maybe an extra 5% to make it 27%).<br /><br />So if prices in 2017 go up 19%, the property tax for foreign owners should be 19 to 24% higher than people who actually live here.<br /><br />The thing about property taxes is that it is every year. The land transfer tax is only an one time thing.<br /><br />Now property taxes are not a huge amount, but those property taxes would mean the mayor wouldn't need to raise taxes on Torontonians (people who might actually vote for him) and only harms non-voters who don't even live in Toronto.<br /><br />Over time the property taxes on foreign owners could be increase gradually until Toronto's housing market stabilizes to a more reasonable and normal growth. Which means Toronto ends up with a stable and sustainable housing market that can withstand global and local recessions - instead of an ever ballooning market that will burst the moment the local economy hits a recession.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/XyMde-IKSGc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2017/02/toronto-in-1980s-style-housing-bubble.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-72977240108420817962017-02-13T20:19:00.001-08:002017-02-13T20:19:22.172-08:00Why you should Schedule an Electrical Inspection<i><b>Schedule an Electrical Inspection for Peace of Mind</b></i><br /><br />Having safe electrical equipment and wiring around your home is not something you want to take lightly. If things aren’t right, you could not only be at risk for a personal injury from electrical contact, but you could be risking a fire as well. If there are electrical problems that are causing fire or shock hazards, you will want to know about them so they can be fixed before you find out the hard way that you had a problem. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8pFFA9AGp1c/WKKFNrjXBuI/AAAAAAAAkPE/PAVm9K2RCKoBk8Y2Oy9qrku1FvFxT--5QCLcB/s1600/Mister%2BSparky%2BElectrician.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8pFFA9AGp1c/WKKFNrjXBuI/AAAAAAAAkPE/PAVm9K2RCKoBk8Y2Oy9qrku1FvFxT--5QCLcB/s1600/Mister%2BSparky%2BElectrician.jpg" /></a></div>If you are not absolutely certain that everything in your home is up to code, you might want to schedule an <a href="http://www.mistersparkyfirstcoast.com/our-products/code-compliance/" target="_blank">electrical inspection Jacksonville</a>. Companies like Mister Sparky have qualified electricians who can come and check out your entire electrical system. If any problems are identified, you will also have a source for getting things fixed. <br /><br />Depending on what is deficient after the inspection, you may just need simple things done like installing some new outlets. In other cases, the job may be more extensive. Whatever the problem is, having knowledgeable electricians at your disposal will enable you to get everything in safe working order and up to code.<br /><br />The electrical code is rather lengthy and can be complicated for people who are not trained in the electrical field. As a result, doing an evaluation is not something you should attempt to do yourself, unless you are an electrician. <br /><br />There may be times when you need to upgrade your electrical panel. If you live in an older home and your panel has never been upgraded, it is highly likely that it needs to be. Most older homes were built when people did not rely on electricity to the extent they do today. To illustrate, just take a look around the rooms in your home and identify the items that you use on a daily basis that run with electricity. Then think about how many of those items did not exist a generation or two ago. If you have the same electrical panel that was in place then, there should be little doubt that you need an upgrade. <br /><br />Another time when your panel may need to be upgraded is when you are making additions like building another room. You clearly do not want to overload your existing system. An upgrade is the smartest and safest thing you can do. <br /><br />Because you can’t actually see electricity, it can be a bit difficult for untrained people to understand. For this reason, you should have your home evaluated by a professional so you can have the peace of mind in knowing that everything is okay. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/PbKH7z7pZ14" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2017/02/schedule-electrical-inspection.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-76557741038112221042017-01-29T18:59:00.002-08:002017-01-29T18:59:29.832-08:00Boulder HouseThis is so kewl we should definitely build more homes like this. Unfortunately boulders conveniently placed like that and huge are pretty rare.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P1dftN5te7Q/WI6r-o-eQSI/AAAAAAAAkKk/J5hZxPk9dLIy2h-wdkb8lXozTyamKyVfwCLcB/s1600/Boulder%2BHouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P1dftN5te7Q/WI6r-o-eQSI/AAAAAAAAkKk/J5hZxPk9dLIy2h-wdkb8lXozTyamKyVfwCLcB/s640/Boulder%2BHouse.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/tt-_2nlkJ2o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2017/01/boulder-house.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-89999742813644960992017-01-01T12:17:00.000-08:002017-01-01T12:17:03.188-08:00Project Gridless - Off Grid Home and Other Topics...<br /><a href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Project Gridless" border="0" height="80" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pk7oQz99d_0/WGLMqXIDheI/AAAAAAAAj00/bKHNaCZu6GMztTZy-dQeyLAZvedbm0iXgCLcB/s400/Project-Gridless-Logo.png" title="Project Gridless" width="400" /></a>A few years ago (Oh wow, that was April 2011. Time flies...) I started an offshoot website titled <a href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/" target="_blank"><b>Project Gridless</b></a>.<br /><br />The goal of the new website was to primarily deal with real estate that was "off the grid". Cabins up north, farms that use solar and wind power, etc. As part of that initial idea I also included a variety of posts on various topics connected to the lifestyle of living off the grid.<br /><br />Topics such as <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Archery">Archery</a>, <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Bow%20Making">Bow Making</a> and a <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Homemade%20Crossbow">Homemade Crossbow</a> that I made dealt with my avid interest in archery and by relation, <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Hunting%20Food%20Off%20The%20Grid">Hunting Food Off The Grid</a>. Over time I even got into <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Compound%20Bow%20Repairs">Compound Bow Repairs</a>.<br /><br />But hunting isn't the only way to get food, so I also explored issues like <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Farming">Farming</a>, <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Gardening">Gardening</a>, <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Fishing%20Off%20the%20Grid">Fishing Off the Grid</a>, <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Trapping">Trapping</a>, and of course <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Cooking%20Tips">Cooking Tips</a>. I even added posts about <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Veganism">Veganism</a> for those people who don't like eating meat.<br /><br />For those people who really love animals I also wrote about <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Animals%20%2F%20Pets">Animals / Pets</a> and <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Falconry">Falconry</a>. (Sometime I really should do some posts about birdwatching too.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ikR6--veOU/WGLQBkl2ujI/AAAAAAAAj1A/BjQMoPD1ScEn8pWCmv6lBtpPsTWyyds-wCLcB/s1600/Cabin%2Bup%2BNorth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ikR6--veOU/WGLQBkl2ujI/AAAAAAAAj1A/BjQMoPD1ScEn8pWCmv6lBtpPsTWyyds-wCLcB/s400/Cabin%2Bup%2BNorth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Because it was still a real estate website many of my posts dealt with things people needed around their home. Thus I wrote about solar, wind, hydro and other ways of getting <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Electricity%20Off%20The%20Grid">Electricity Off The Grid</a>. And because this is Canada and we have hot summers and cold winters, I also had posts about <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Heating%20and%20Cooling">Heating and Cooling</a>. And <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Green%20Homes">Green Homes</a> / <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Sustainable%20Architecture">Sustainable Architecture</a> for those people obsessed with the environment. And "modern necessities" like how to get <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Off%20The%20Grid%20Internet">Off The Grid Internet</a> and plumbing, aka <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Water%20and%20Sewer%20Off%20The%20Grid">Water and Sewer Off The Grid</a>.<br /><br />For the preppers / survivalists out there I wrote posts about:<br /><ul><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Bug%20Out%20Bag">Bug Out Bags</a> </li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Camping">Camping</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Nomadic%20Lifestyle">Nomadic Lifestyles</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Survivalism">Survivalism</a></li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xvnUIsZPZL4/WGLQOpj7vMI/AAAAAAAAj1E/4HZAEwycJZAlHsoJMXwQz4aqBDlxZeQGACLcB/s1600/Cordwood%2BHomes%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xvnUIsZPZL4/WGLQOpj7vMI/AAAAAAAAj1E/4HZAEwycJZAlHsoJMXwQz4aqBDlxZeQGACLcB/s400/Cordwood%2BHomes%2B01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>But it still was not enough. I also had topics such as:<br /><ul><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/DIY%20Projects">DIY Projects</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Education%20Off%20The%20Grid">Education Off The Grid</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Exercising%20Off%20The%20Grid">Exercising Off The Grid</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Healthcare">Healthcare</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Recycling%20Materials">Recycling Materials</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Sailing">Sailing</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Sports">Sports</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Transportation">Transportation</a></li><li><a dir="ltr" href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Treehouse">Treehouse</a></li></ul>In April 2017 it will be 6 years since I started <a href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/" target="_blank"><b>Project Gridless</b></a> and there is still is so much to do. It is an expansive topic that goes beyond real estate and into the realms of being self sufficient, providing your own food, your own heat sources, your own entertainment, and all of your necessities.<br /><br />My efforts have not been in a vacuum either. <b>Project Gridless</b> is now twice as popular than <a href="http://www.mysearchforahome.com/" target="_blank"><b>MSfaH</b></a>.<br /><br />Therefore <i>I am putting the call out for more bloggers to join me</i>.<br /><br />Join <b>Project Gridless</b> and write about the off grid topics that most capture your interest.<br /><br />To join email charlesmoffat{atsymbol}charlesmoffat.com.<br /><br />Once you have joined you can post on the above topics to your heart's content, knowing that you are posting to an already popular and successful blog that is currently read by 5000+ people per month.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/KMeNmC6TMtU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2017/01/project-gridless-off-grid-home-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-75372019309226358322016-12-27T11:51:00.004-08:002016-12-30T11:18:42.350-08:00Renovating Home Offices in Toronto<b>On Renovating Home Offices for Work from Home Professionals</b><br /><br />By Rob C.<br /><br />This author was there when <a href="http://singleinthecity.ca/author/laura/" target="_blank">Laura Bilotta from Single in the City</a> walked a renovator around her Toronto area townhouse and laid down plans for a new perfect home office. “Rip out the wall cabinets and put up vision boards,’ was how she started her fix list. "Bookshelves are so last century."<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gaa8dSQ0U6I/WGLGNC3wNYI/AAAAAAAAj0k/_Zuc2LYL9kIx1FS_J6nv-SziYCueR1PMQCLcB/s1600/Keith%2Bsurveying%2Ba%2BHome%2BOffice%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gaa8dSQ0U6I/WGLGNC3wNYI/AAAAAAAAj0k/_Zuc2LYL9kIx1FS_J6nv-SziYCueR1PMQCLcB/s320/Keith%2Bsurveying%2Ba%2BHome%2BOffice%2B01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The contractor agreed, and he nodded his head like he was expecting it. <a href="http://www.eastviewhomes.ca/" target="_blank">Keith Travers, home renovations expert in Toronto</a> has years of experience and his own ideas about transforming living rooms, basements and guest bedrooms into cost efficient modern home offices. "What Laura asked for is what every work from home professional wants, a clean modern home office."<br /><br /><b>Clear the walls and ‘desks’</b><br /><br />In Laura’s vision for tomorrow there are no desks and no shelves, but rather tables stuck to bare walls with nothing underneath to bang her knees on when swivel-chairing around the room. By having clear walls and desk surfaces she can do three jobs at once in three or more separate work stations in her office, or on busy days, she can bring in support staff and easily scale her operations.<br /><br />By having white boards and cork boards on the walls instead of shelves, Laura can effectively organize tasks for staff using pins and post-it notes. This makes it easy for interns to pick-up and go forward with initiatives laid out literally right in front of their eyes. Perhaps more important is how it allows Laura to compartmentalize her campaigns in her own mind.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2IyItUcDtT8/WGLGNAc3B4I/AAAAAAAAj0g/McI9jWZJuMsK5o7zaAR7q4Km6ZdnBjsEQCEw/s1600/Keith%2Bsurveying%2Ba%2BHome%2BOffice%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2IyItUcDtT8/WGLGNAc3B4I/AAAAAAAAj0g/McI9jWZJuMsK5o7zaAR7q4Km6ZdnBjsEQCEw/s320/Keith%2Bsurveying%2Ba%2BHome%2BOffice%2B02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>"Shelving is still important." Keith Travers insisted, “But now the shelves go up to the top of the wall. Shelves are necessary for storage, and small things can be put in wood boxes we can make to match the décor.” And another item that’s now stored high on the shelf – the office printer.<br /><br /><b>Install Offices Doors that can be Closed</b><br /><br />High on Laura’s list for Keith was to amend the walls of her living room to host French doors (double doors with twelve panel glass windows in the center of each) so she could seal off her home office and therein her business from the rest of her life.<br /><br />Keith told me later that doors and walls are necessary mental as well as physical barriers; the modern work from home professional needs a door for privacy and security of course, but also, they must be able to close a door in their mind at some point everyday too. A physical door that locks helps them mentally encapsulate their work inside their home life. <br /><br /><b>Office Telephone Wifi Solution</b><br /><br />While most work from home professionals function effectively these days without an office telephone, WiFi must be present in their home office. Why not get a business phone? There are still plenty of advantages to using an old-school <a href="https://standardtele.com/collections/nortel-phones" target="_blank">Nortel Meridian phone with a display fromStandard Telecom</a> because over time it becomes a super handy easy-to- use business rolodex that can store call data for years. Regardless home office professions must have a strong Wifi signal, and so the modem / router connection MUST be in the home office.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mxw68jxRtlI/WGLGNAuJbGI/AAAAAAAAj0c/d8OOoF2wLCcKRBq3PBvtGe179z-lcmy1wCEw/s1600/Keith%2Bsurveying%2Ba%2BHome%2BOffice%2B03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mxw68jxRtlI/WGLGNAuJbGI/AAAAAAAAj0c/d8OOoF2wLCcKRBq3PBvtGe179z-lcmy1wCEw/s320/Keith%2Bsurveying%2Ba%2BHome%2BOffice%2B03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The alternative is to embrace walking back and forth, up and down stairs every time there’s a problem. If the residence did not previously have a home office than the cable modem is likely found behind the television – it must be moved into the office and a proper airport Wi-Fi set up high on the shelf, in the room where people are working – not in the room where kids are playing network videos or spouses watch TV.<br /><br /><b>Put a Safe in the Wall</b><br /><br />Somewhere in the home office there should be a wall safe. Its important. It’s a line item on many small business insurance policies. There should also be a filing cabinet ‘solution’ and if you don’t have a safe then you need a good filing cabinet with at least one drawer that locks. Where else can you keep your master business license? Or your lifetime discount deals, exclusive contracts, or your bottle of the good stuff and maybe your handgun? ‘Handgun owners must have a safe’ Keith adds, ‘they’re required by Federal legislation to have and use a secure lock box to store their weapons.’<br /><br /><b>A Clock above a Calendar</b><br /><br />Further to the idea of keeping track of time and resources – the wall clock and calendar combination is critical for keeping small business CEOs and staff on track. The wall clock is different than the wrist watch and cellphone clock and computer monitor time keeper. The wall clock is a powerful judge that knows when you start late, and finish early.<br /><br />For small business professional who work alone and talk to themselves, the clock &amp; calendar is one character who becomes a mental butler. He or she is a concierge who schedules calls and appointments and becomes an operational framework for the business. The device also serves to answer questions that other visitors to the home office (mostly family members) might have<br />regarding your time, especially if they can see the business agenda on the home office calendar and plan accordingly.<br /><br /><b>Leave Room for Visitors</b><br /><br />"There needs to be space for visitors", Keith made Laura think about her new office layout from the perspective of a visiting client that might come to her house. Where will he or she sit? And what will they see? How comfortable will they be in here?<br /><br />Laura’s home office of the future is set to look very Spartan indeed. With hardwood floors under the swivel chairs and wide open surfaces on white walls and wood tables, the blank office chamber is designed to invite creativity and banish clutter.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/UeKBHQvKtsw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2016/12/renovating-home-offices-in-toronto.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-17599872304344240162016-09-29T17:23:00.001-07:002016-09-29T17:23:22.828-07:00Hey Toronto, don't forget to Winterize your Plumbing<b>Winterizing Your Home in the Toronto Area</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8p4emHIkFL8/V-2vkAky8KI/AAAAAAAAjXg/HoZymfYYrkoqHVm-oqbvDifYK11CDRU0gCEw/s1600/Frozen%2BPipes%2B03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8p4emHIkFL8/V-2vkAky8KI/AAAAAAAAjXg/HoZymfYYrkoqHVm-oqbvDifYK11CDRU0gCEw/s320/Frozen%2BPipes%2B03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Wintertime means ice skating and hockey for most Canadians. And whether you plan to go become a snowbird in Arizona or stay in the Toronto area, it is a good idea to consider winterizing your home and yard so that you can enjoy the winter months without having to do any outdoor maintenance.<br /><br />Here are some of the most popular ways to set your home and yard up for the cold season:<br /><br />Look into plumbing maintenance: If you do have a problem with your pipes, chances are that it will happen in the Wintertime- when temperature extremes put the most stress on your pipes. One way to try and head this off is to work with a local plumbing partner- someone who can arrange to do maintenance on a regular or seasonal basis. In addition to focusing on <a href="http://priorityplumbing.ca/frozen-pipes-repair-toronto" target="_blank">water pipe repair in Toronto</a>, most plumbing professionals are able to check all of your pipes and water systems and tell you where there are any weak spots. One way that they can do this is by doing a pressure test that will show if there are any weak spots in your plumbing system. If there are, they can normally predict about how long your system will be able to continue without repair.<br /><br />Plumbing maintenance that you can do yourself around the home should probably include draining all of your garden hoses, coiling them up, and storing them indoors in a shed or the garage. Draining any fountain not made of stone or natural materials is also a good idea because they will last longer.<br /><br /><b>Go High Tech On Heat Loss:</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oULYYyqLNd0/V-2vkDNSOSI/AAAAAAAAjXc/miqZhaTs648RnFoA_8SWP_11Y1wJnuMuwCEw/s1600/Frozen%2BPipes%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oULYYyqLNd0/V-2vkDNSOSI/AAAAAAAAjXc/miqZhaTs648RnFoA_8SWP_11Y1wJnuMuwCEw/s320/Frozen%2BPipes%2B01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Another popular type of maintenance over the past several years has been to take the latest infrared sensors and make a heat map of your home so that a contractor can can take defined heat loss areas and fix them. The present technology is strong enough that it can show a couple of degree temperature difference, making it easy to find out where your house is leaking warm air from the outside.<br /><br />The savings that you achieve by having your house examined and then repair may be substantial if it works out that you had a major leak without knowing about it.<br /><br />One area that can put you ahead when it comes to heat loss is choosing the right insulation strategy in your home. Many older homes were not insulated as well as they could be. On the other hand, even if your home is newer and already has insulation in the walls and floor and ceiling, you can still save money in the long run by adding another layer of insulation. If you have centralized heating, it is also a good idea to ensure that all of your duct pipes are wrapped with insulation.<br /><br /><b>Ensure Your Heat Sources Are Adequate:</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bAOEZWSW8nw/V-2vkakek6I/AAAAAAAAjXo/PAay1MSi-M4mS10J_UUbynBiWLQKZsSkQCEw/s1600/Frozen%2BPipes%2B05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bAOEZWSW8nw/V-2vkakek6I/AAAAAAAAjXo/PAay1MSi-M4mS10J_UUbynBiWLQKZsSkQCEw/s320/Frozen%2BPipes%2B05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Over the years, you have likely grown close to your furnace and fireplace- and know how efficiently they actually perform for you. At the same time, Autumn is a really good time to have a professional come in and check them out to see if they can't get more efficiency out of them. At a base level, you may find that your furnace filter hasn't been changed as often as it could- something that can take away from its output. You can also have them test the output in each room to ensure that the air forced into every room is warm enough to actually heat it up. In addition to wrapping the duct pipes, it can pay off to ensure that the main pipes that lead into the the furnace itself are also winterized.<br /><br />When it comes to fireplaces, many homes have purchased heat exchangers or inserts that increase the amount of hot air that is generated when you have a fire. If you don't have one, you might look at your options- they can save you money. Getting your chimney cleaned is antoher great winterization idea because it means another season of safe fires in your home.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xzOWJsEAYA4/V-2vlszjg2I/AAAAAAAAjX0/UxDWJ2PicNEa2SNByIiZtfeFdAAFinraQCEw/s1600/Frozen%2BPipes%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xzOWJsEAYA4/V-2vlszjg2I/AAAAAAAAjX0/UxDWJ2PicNEa2SNByIiZtfeFdAAFinraQCEw/s400/Frozen%2BPipes%2B02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx0UsK7E8Dc/V-2vkBou65I/AAAAAAAAjX0/YrKtK9zx3vUrfLHbTMa6MkSQaZNAEJApQCEw/s1600/Frozen%2BPipes%2B04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rx0UsK7E8Dc/V-2vkBou65I/AAAAAAAAjX0/YrKtK9zx3vUrfLHbTMa6MkSQaZNAEJApQCEw/s400/Frozen%2BPipes%2B04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eKlk_4wUT5A/V-2vkivME2I/AAAAAAAAjX0/9DeDB_WYLNIsdkhJVqEdNucUn4r88w4VQCEw/s1600/Frozen%2BPipes%2B06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eKlk_4wUT5A/V-2vkivME2I/AAAAAAAAjX0/9DeDB_WYLNIsdkhJVqEdNucUn4r88w4VQCEw/s400/Frozen%2BPipes%2B06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/64mBF02rkaI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2016/09/toronto-winterize-plumbing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-75891324044471054272016-08-31T08:34:00.003-07:002016-08-31T08:34:35.839-07:00The Evolution of Urban Planning, InfographicI find it really annoying when people email infographics, asking me to post it for them. I consider them to basically be spam.<br /><br />This one however was rather interesting, so I have decided to post it. It was sent to me from "Kon von der Schulenburg", who is an architect from an architectural firm called "Cantrell &amp; Crowley Architects &amp; Interior Designers". Their website is http://www.cantrellcrowley.com<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRh6QtDLpUY/V8b4RPm7nhI/AAAAAAAAjLM/Q_hVPNHRnsoDnpbwEhByEkyYD-z8I3XtwCLcB/s1600/The-Evolution-of-Urban-Planning_info.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="2646" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRh6QtDLpUY/V8b4RPm7nhI/AAAAAAAAjLM/Q_hVPNHRnsoDnpbwEhByEkyYD-z8I3XtwCLcB/s1600/The-Evolution-of-Urban-Planning_info.png" width="450" /></a></div><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/OBqijVqfSFA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2016/08/the-evolution-of-urban-planning.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-71202289603405124632016-05-03T06:38:00.000-07:002016-05-03T07:31:41.784-07:00Raccoon Removal Service for HomesThe video below is of a mousetrap that humanely catches mice. But what if you could build a larger scale version that catches raccoons?<br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ABffYDM9EwU" width="560"></iframe><br /></center><br />Raccoons are a serious problem in many parts of Toronto, often due to a lack of natural predators that eat raccoons. The closest thing to predators in Toronto is traffic, as testified by the sheer number of raccoons that get hit and killed on Toronto streets every year.<br /><br />Like the impromptu memorial for a dead raccoon that popped up within hours and went viral in July 2015. Proof that Torontonians truly care about its wildlife, even if they did it a bit jokingly (I think the cigarette in the raccoons paw was a bit of an overkill). Shown below:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jJrODOCoZC8/VyigclukPzI/AAAAAAAAiZs/vt_QHv4ncBg931GE3jBGF3QOXzpujbNlwCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BRaccoon%2BMemorial%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jJrODOCoZC8/VyigclukPzI/AAAAAAAAiZs/vt_QHv4ncBg931GE3jBGF3QOXzpujbNlwCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BRaccoon%2BMemorial%2B01.jpg" /></a></div><br />A friend of mine who lives near York University even feeds her raccoons. She lives near a ravine so she has tonnes of raccoons in the neighbourhood. Even within her home she is a bit of an animal fanatic, having a rabbit, cats, mice, and pet spiders. The raccoons to her are just one more thing worth feeding.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iqQiEJ2jev4/Vyipqcjy3XI/AAAAAAAAibA/wUN6uWU5uNo1dBmd1PDJdw7r1U3Za0fqQCLcB/s1600/Raccoon%2BBurglar%2BMeme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iqQiEJ2jev4/Vyipqcjy3XI/AAAAAAAAibA/wUN6uWU5uNo1dBmd1PDJdw7r1U3Za0fqQCLcB/s1600/Raccoon%2BBurglar%2BMeme.jpg" /></a></div>I should note however that feeding wild animals can be dangerous. If they lose their sense of fear of humans, they are no longer afraid of humans and can become either dangerous or a nuisance.<br /><br />Toronto's raccoons for example have, for the most part retained some of their fear of humans, but others are quite brazen and friendly - but friendly doesn't mean they are not dangerous if provoked.<br /><br />If you own a home and you are having a problem with raccoons being a nuisance (and possibly even attacking your dog or cat or children) then you need to have those animals removed.<br /><br />Many people in Toronto believe that raccoons should be simply be killed, that this is the simplest / quickest / most permanent solution to the raccoon problem in Toronto. Some people attempt to do this by leaving rat poison, anti-freeze or dishwasher detergent in places where the raccoons frequent and the raccoons eat/drink the poisonous materials and later die.<br /><br />However deadly traps and poisons are banned in Toronto. As is shooting them with firearms.<br /><br />"<i>Current Ministry of Natural Resources guidelines state that using body gripping traps or placing poison could result in criminal charges and/or provincial charges with fines up $5,000.'</i><i> </i> <br /><ul><li><i>The firing of guns in Toronto is illegal.</i></li><li><i>Placing poison out to kill animals could result in criminal charges." </i></li></ul>It is important to note that raccoons are wildlife, and as such are protected. They can only be trapped humanely and then transported (preferably outside of the city). Vermin on the other hand (mice, rats, cockroaches, wasps, insects, etc) can be killed outright.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWDzzOClXkU/VyikNjguO8I/AAAAAAAAiZ8/VjRrrSOa6DAaRosjtdi_e-Kdxx0A89jTQCKgB/s1600/Derick%2BStudying%2BRaccoon%2BAccess%2BPoint%2Bof%2BResidential%2BHouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWDzzOClXkU/VyikNjguO8I/AAAAAAAAiZ8/VjRrrSOa6DAaRosjtdi_e-Kdxx0A89jTQCKgB/s320/Derick%2BStudying%2BRaccoon%2BAccess%2BPoint%2Bof%2BResidential%2BHouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derick McChesney of SWAT Wildlife</td></tr></tbody></table>So over the past few decades there has evolved a special ambassador to animals; the modern wildlife removal technician is a licensed wild animal whisperer who safeguards these creatures' lives and the lives of their young families with every house call. He or she protects the animal's rights just as much as he works to seal the house and keep the homeowner or business owner's property safe.<br /><br />And nobody does this job better than <a href="http://swatwildlife.com/services/raccoon-removal-toronto/" target="_blank">raccoon removal expert, Derick McChesney of SWAT Wildlife</a>. <br /><br />Last month <u>Life as a Human</u> did a story on Derick that took the form of a very insightful and informative ride along as Derick completed three missions helping home owners and safeguarding raccoons. You can see how he found a nest of baby raccoons in a rental apartment.<br /><br />See<br /><a href="http://lifeasahuman.com/2016/eco/environment/the-art-science-of-raccoon-removal-in-toronto/" target="_blank">http://lifeasahuman.com/2016/<wbr></wbr>eco/environment/the-art-<wbr></wbr>science-of-raccoon-removal-in-<wbr></wbr>toronto/</a><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HvkApsjfFQs/VyikNXwZQII/AAAAAAAAiZ4/mgN_sSiICdUKRiKoOd2JXGeHDkQUpeHiQCLcB/s1600/SWAT%2BWildlife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HvkApsjfFQs/VyikNXwZQII/AAAAAAAAiZ4/mgN_sSiICdUKRiKoOd2JXGeHDkQUpeHiQCLcB/s640/SWAT%2BWildlife.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sY7MLKBdJ-Y/VyinCL1DDBI/AAAAAAAAiaQ/8pEGop3fkFQPbwjdXQT91JbLJvRkNxypQCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BRemoval%2BService%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sY7MLKBdJ-Y/VyinCL1DDBI/AAAAAAAAiaQ/8pEGop3fkFQPbwjdXQT91JbLJvRkNxypQCLcB/s640/Raccoons%2BRemoval%2BService%2B01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raccoons often like hiding in high places. Hence the ladder.</td></tr></tbody></table>Derick also shares wisdom about how to know if animals are living in a house before you buy the property, which you can read on Josie Stern's blog below:<br /><br />Josie Sterns Toronto real estate blog post, <a href="http://josiestern.com/real-estate-blog/2016/04/are-strangers-living-in-your-house/" target="_blank"><i>Are Raccoons Living In you Home?</i></a><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>"He </i>[Derick McChesney] <i>states, “roughly 15-20% of homes probably have a mice issue or have once had a wildlife issue. Most of the time the seller will only do the minimum amount of work to get rid of the problem and decline the necessary prevention so they can sell the house and then leave the problem with someone else." Buyers that do unwittingly purchase animal infested properties are in for nightmare renovations that can include new carpets, drywall and total home insulation removal and replacement."</i></blockquote><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P6zmo23tPa4/VyinBwBWuBI/AAAAAAAAiaI/Wnvv0rdKb58RktoQdDPmDmM2hauvNzYAgCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BRemoval%2BService%2B02.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="594" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P6zmo23tPa4/VyinBwBWuBI/AAAAAAAAiaI/Wnvv0rdKb58RktoQdDPmDmM2hauvNzYAgCLcB/s640/Raccoons%2BRemoval%2BService%2B02.jpe" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Which includes your attic. Sometimes also your basement, crawl space, garage, space above the garage, etc.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TJkdoJFJpmI/VyinCGjtHJI/AAAAAAAAiaM/EM-QvAzM3gMbKgpWKnQlVBX2ud2ryJp4QCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BRemoval%2BService%2B03.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="610" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TJkdoJFJpmI/VyinCGjtHJI/AAAAAAAAiaM/EM-QvAzM3gMbKgpWKnQlVBX2ud2ryJp4QCLcB/s640/Raccoons%2BRemoval%2BService%2B03.jpe" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken wire is surprisingly effective at caging raccoons out of attics.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Raccoons often get into houses through the garage. They are basically nature's best burglars. Check out <a href="https://gurusecurity.ca/raccoons-can-teach-prowlers-homeowners-security/" target="_blank">Guru Security's blog post, <i>What raccoons can teach prowlers about your home security?</i></a><a href="https://gurusecurity.ca/raccoons-can-teach-prowlers-homeowners-security/" target="_blank"></a> to learn more on this topic.<br /><br />However if you want to make it more difficult for raccoons to get in and out of your garage, you might want to invest in hiring some <a href="http://www.mckeehorrigan.com/" target="_blank">garage door installers</a> to install an automatic garage door. It takes only a moment for raccoons to sneak into places they are not meant to be - <i>often in search of food</i> - and the more often they manage to find food means they stick around in the neighbourhood and continue to be a nuisance. Having an automatic garage door that closes when not in use prevents the animals from being afforded the opportunity to do so again and again and again.<br /><br />More photos of raccoons in Toronto:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FFGyCn2Cg3Y/VyioPDS9YMI/AAAAAAAAias/ZmMAF3tR8NYF55MMkDch5a5nkOGkF_oCwCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FFGyCn2Cg3Y/VyioPDS9YMI/AAAAAAAAias/ZmMAF3tR8NYF55MMkDch5a5nkOGkF_oCwCLcB/s400/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VvizRvwsghc/VyioPz7CUwI/AAAAAAAAiaw/Akiknuyffxk4Vrj7xGCdC4vspUY1-hnZwCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VvizRvwsghc/VyioPz7CUwI/AAAAAAAAiaw/Akiknuyffxk4Vrj7xGCdC4vspUY1-hnZwCLcB/s400/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aPNMPdpVOEE/VyioROew9qI/AAAAAAAAia0/iMnKRXBJJlYjdl9yeZjlMR3GJKnera14wCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aPNMPdpVOEE/VyioROew9qI/AAAAAAAAia0/iMnKRXBJJlYjdl9yeZjlMR3GJKnera14wCLcB/s400/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GvF7BhFwMr8/VyioOWydQ1I/AAAAAAAAiac/H16IiM-qkjUh6KNT0kYvRMx78SasvOvIwCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GvF7BhFwMr8/VyioOWydQ1I/AAAAAAAAiac/H16IiM-qkjUh6KNT0kYvRMx78SasvOvIwCLcB/s400/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d0IhOZnvTRo/VyioObfYhuI/AAAAAAAAiak/POdmQDnnMCgjnQtqoPBmSa1bFyv9Kv-agCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d0IhOZnvTRo/VyioObfYhuI/AAAAAAAAiak/POdmQDnnMCgjnQtqoPBmSa1bFyv9Kv-agCLcB/s400/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhmWq7rU0u0/VyioOffjdhI/AAAAAAAAiag/LMXVRVT3MkIiiMqCFy-yHLg-estm9I-fQCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhmWq7rU0u0/VyioOffjdhI/AAAAAAAAiag/LMXVRVT3MkIiiMqCFy-yHLg-estm9I-fQCLcB/s400/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DacHiRIIsgo/VyioOwlIkcI/AAAAAAAAiao/vfqp7VPRzwEMJFNdpkKJpm1vwGWQ-JRKQCLcB/s1600/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DacHiRIIsgo/VyioOwlIkcI/AAAAAAAAiao/vfqp7VPRzwEMJFNdpkKJpm1vwGWQ-JRKQCLcB/s400/Raccoons%2BToronto%2B07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I should note that Toronto raccoons don't usually get very big. They're comparatively tiny when compared to the giant raccoons you find in the countryside - some as big as German Shepherds or Chimpanzees. It really depends on how well fed they are. In the countryside they can grow to be quite large.<br /><br />The one in the photo below is large, but still not as big as the biggest one I have ever seen which was Chimp sized.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-02KL_I9jRUY/VyipLLsUJ_I/AAAAAAAAia8/KJEYRBCwHAoXCLi_bf_xaSye0jx5DfjLwCLcB/s1600/Large%2BRaccoon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-02KL_I9jRUY/VyipLLsUJ_I/AAAAAAAAia8/KJEYRBCwHAoXCLi_bf_xaSye0jx5DfjLwCLcB/s1600/Large%2BRaccoon.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/szXRtXp0rhg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2016/05/raccoon-removal-service-for-homes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-25096855036610446022015-10-16T06:33:00.000-07:002015-10-16T06:33:00.648-07:00Conservatives Vs Liberals - How does the election effect housing prices?In terms of real estate, how does the Canadian election effect home prices? <br /><br />Well it depends. Are you buying or selling?<br /><br />If you are thinking of voting for the Conservatives, expect more of the same laissez-faire approach to economics - which means to say the Conservatives like to do nothing unless they absolutely have to.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xoeCcv7yFAM/ViD7JNVewhI/AAAAAAAAg9E/S2l1cd8ACu8/s1600/Stephen%2BHarper%2Bdoesnt%2Bcare.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xoeCcv7yFAM/ViD7JNVewhI/AAAAAAAAg9E/S2l1cd8ACu8/s1600/Stephen%2BHarper%2Bdoesnt%2Bcare.jpe" /></a></div>Remember the recession that started several months ago? Stephen Harper denied it was a recession until economists told him, yes, yes it is a recession. And even after the recession was confirmed Stephen Harper has actively avoided using the word "recession" - because talking about the recession is bad for his re-election campaign. (Instead Harper has been trying to distract people by fear-mongering about Muslims.)<br /><br />In terms of real estate a recession lowers house prices, so that is good for home buyers, but bad for people looking to sell.<br /><br />Voting for the Liberals means lower taxes for the middle class, which makes homebuying more affordable - which means prices may end up going higher, which is good for sellers, but more affordability also means the economy is more robust and Canadian homebuyers will be more able to afford that new home. So that is a win-win.<br /><br />In contrast the Conservatives like to lower taxes for the rich - which they have been doing for 10 years now. This has resulted in the richest Canadians becoming richer, while the middle class has failed to make any progress. The Conservatives had 10 years to lower taxes on the middle class, and they squandered those ten years on partisan politics and betting on oil futures. Thus the rich are now more able to buy property and make themselves richer. Land ownership in Canada has become very skewed towards the rich during the last 10 years, plus foreign ownership of land in Canada has skyrocketed, with much of Canada's oil and mineral reserves being bought up by the Chinese.<br /><br />Also we should note that the polls show that the best the Conservatives can hope for right now is a minority government, which would be hamstrung by the fact the Liberals, NDP and the Bloc are all refusing to support a minority Conservative government. So even if the Conservatives managed to cling to power, they would be essentially powerless.<br /><br />In contrast the Liberals are currently poised to seize a possible majority government, which could usher in years of economic benefits for the middle class.<br /><br />Canada's political system is really about class warfare - squabbling over who should pay more taxes and how much we should spend on social programs.<br /><br />The Conservatives support the rich, and cut taxes for the rich while cutting social programs that help the middle class and poor.<br /><br />The Liberals support the middle class, and cut taxes for the middle class, raise taxes on the rich, and use a moderate amount of funding for the social programs.<br /><br />The NDP support the poor, cut taxes for the poor, raise taxes for the rich and upper-middle class, and spend oodles of money on social programs.<br /><br />So who you vote for is really a matter of whether you buy, mortgage or rent real estate.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: blue;">If you are rich, you buy real estate outright. No mortgage. Therefore you should vote Conservative.</span></b><br /><b><br /></b><b><span style="color: red;">If you are middle class, you buy real estate with a mortgage and pay it off over time. Therefore you should vote Liberal.</span></b><br /><b><br /></b><b><span style="color: orange;">If you are poor, you are still renting an apartment, living in your parent's basement, etc. You should vote NDP.</span></b><br /><br />There you go - Canada's political parties explained in real estate terms, in a nutshell.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/b-GGZYnp02U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2015/10/conservatives-vs-liberals-how-does.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-11062838510362551672015-10-16T06:04:00.000-07:002015-10-16T06:04:02.571-07:00GTA and Vancouver Suburbs Prices Soaring<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IutcYhv01qk/UbnzuDefmGI/AAAAAAAAU5c/EIDJOyV-4B0/s1600/Toronto%2BHousing%2BBubble%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IutcYhv01qk/UbnzuDefmGI/AAAAAAAAU5c/EIDJOyV-4B0/s320/Toronto%2BHousing%2BBubble%2B01.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When will Canada experience a US style burst?</td></tr></tbody></table>If you think the prices within Toronto and Vancouver are skyrocketing, wait til you see the prices for the suburbs - which would normally be considerably cheaper. All of this adds up to an ever-inflating housing bubble in two of Canada's hottest real estate markets.<br /><br />According to the latest Royal LePage housing report, the cost of homes in the suburbs are surging, eclipsing those of the city core in some cases.<br /><br />Home prices in the Toronto area climbed 11.3 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, to $612,261. In the city proper, the cost was almost $640,000.<br /><br />The median price of a two-storey Toronto home, is up 17.1 per cent to $961,656. The price of a similar home in nearby Richmond Hill rose 18.6 per cent to $963,561 and in Vaughan by 18 per cent to $842,173.<br /><br />Vancouver homes are also high, up 17.3 per cent at more than $1.9-million. The corresponding prices in Richmond and Burnaby surged 23.5 and 20.9 per cent, respectively, to about $1.2-million. A&nbsp; two-storey in North Vancouver is $1.3-million, while those in West Vancouver are going for about $2.8-million.<br /><br />Across Canada, home prices rose 0.6 per cent in September from August, and 5.6 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Teranet-National Bank home price index released yesterday. The index showed that prices climbed 10.4 per cent in Vancouver and 8.6 per cent in Vancouver<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"The Vancouver index, at 201.24 in September, is the first to top 200, meaning that prices in that market are slightly more than twice as high as in June 2005."</i></span></blockquote></div><br />With respect to these two markets a bubble has been forming for over two decades, with prices reaching dizzying heights - especially in Vancouver. At some point the bubble has to burst and prices will tumble, but to do so there has to be an impetus - something to set it off. A proverbial flea that broke the camel's back.<br /><br />The 2008-2010 recession wasn't enough to do it. The current 2015 oil-collapse recession plaguing Canada likely won't be enough either, because when you consider that the Canadian dollar has slid dramatically over the past two years, what you realize is that if you measure housing prices in US dollars, the prices haven't really gone up that much.<br /><br />The Canadian dollar hasn’t been above parity with the U.S. dollar since Valentine’s Day 2013. Since then it’s dropped at a record-setting pace of 23 per cent by July 2015.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U3bg5Jjb7Qk/ViD0Pc2_dkI/AAAAAAAAg80/5CwnnR8J9yw/s1600/Sagging%2BLoonie%2BChart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U3bg5Jjb7Qk/ViD0Pc2_dkI/AAAAAAAAg80/5CwnnR8J9yw/s1600/Sagging%2BLoonie%2BChart.jpg" /></a></div><br />Now you might think, oh the dollar is down, wouldn't that effect our economy? And you would be right - it does. It boosts our exports because the prices of doing business/buying goods in Canada is now cheaper. It also means the prices of investing in real estate in Canada is now cheaper too (for non-Canadians).<br /><br />One would wonder if it were possible to take your money you had invested in oil - if you timed it right before the oil prices collapsed - and reinvest in real estate. Then when the oil prices go back up eventually, the price of the Canadian "petro dollar" would rise in value too - which means when you sell the real estate, you've then made a bundle on both the increased value of the real estate, but you've also made a bundle off the fluctuating US-CDN exchange rate. Hypothetically speaking.<br /><br />Meanwhile Canada has an election coming up very soon...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/6U8VKZJFbbs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2015/10/gta-and-vancouver-suburbs-prices-soaring.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-16043344805804723902015-01-31T11:51:00.000-08:002016-05-03T06:40:14.099-07:00Carports Vs Garages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NVBBMBvJoJE/VM6CEmRmUmI/AAAAAAAAe3Q/Xs617wmxFv8/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NVBBMBvJoJE/VM6CEmRmUmI/AAAAAAAAe3Q/Xs617wmxFv8/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B01.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>It is cheaper to build a carport instead of a garage, and in Canada it is arguably also more practical.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Well, have you ever had to shovel snow out of a driveway just to get the garage door open?<br /><br />Or is your garage so full of stuff that you park in the driveway anyway and don't actually park your car inside the garage?<br /><br />That is why. Carports give you the advantage of being able to park your car in the driveway, but still have a roof over top of it so you don't have to shovel the snow so much.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6EbgqMbBsyE/VM6CEstF0EI/AAAAAAAAe3U/-cg9azyrBX0/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6EbgqMbBsyE/VM6CEstF0EI/AAAAAAAAe3U/-cg9azyrBX0/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B02.jpg" height="141" width="320" /></a></div>Plus carports never have the problem of junk accumulating in your garage, stuff that rightfully belongs either:<br /><br />In your basement.<br />In your attic.<br />In your recycling bins, because lets face it, a lot of the junk people keep in their garage is really just <b>garbage</b>.<br /><br />Now I understand some people just love having a garage, but parking in a carport is so much easier and you get many of the benefits of having a garage, but without the cost and certain annoying factors that come with garages. Thus to me a carport makes a great deal of sense just for its convenience.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qRS6ObVWQE0/VM6CErrNE2I/AAAAAAAAe3M/tgdzBVKZXXc/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qRS6ObVWQE0/VM6CErrNE2I/AAAAAAAAe3M/tgdzBVKZXXc/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B03.jpg" height="278" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxh-t4Nk9Jo/VM6CFNwn10I/AAAAAAAAe3Y/FeXHdRVYeq8/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxh-t4Nk9Jo/VM6CFNwn10I/AAAAAAAAe3Y/FeXHdRVYeq8/s1600/Modernist%2BDesign%2Bwith%2BCarport%2B04.jpg" height="275" width="640" /></a></div><br />In the USA carports are more popular in the southern states and near army bases, thanks to the 1950s modernist movement which saw many residential communities built near military bases using the modernist designs, which in turn used carports as part of their designs quite often.<br /><br />The designs shown above are by Mike Kopecky, who grew up near an army base in Texas and now lives in Toronto. He is the designing houses for a retro-modernist community in Leander Texas, but hopes that developers in Toronto may become inspired to try something similar here in Canada. You can read more about his development in Leander in the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/architecture/home-design-and-a-growing-thirst-for-the-retro-modern/article22697658/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Globe and Mail</a>.<br /><br />Below are some different, interesting and innovative designs for carports. I especially liked the ones with the solar panels and plants.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GitTsbCkNaI/VM5-d0jiXNI/AAAAAAAAe1k/Ig56fXyn8hE/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GitTsbCkNaI/VM5-d0jiXNI/AAAAAAAAe1k/Ig56fXyn8hE/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B01.jpg" height="316" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V0HvzhhU5vk/VM5-dzC_neI/AAAAAAAAe1g/GRyaxp8Ftlo/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V0HvzhhU5vk/VM5-dzC_neI/AAAAAAAAe1g/GRyaxp8Ftlo/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B02.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TEm7nWSUvV0/VM5-dwwzOhI/AAAAAAAAe1o/UQrTfIrGyDY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TEm7nWSUvV0/VM5-dwwzOhI/AAAAAAAAe1o/UQrTfIrGyDY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B03.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PbICoENO5H0/VM5-ee3lwEI/AAAAAAAAe1s/Mw819wun58M/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PbICoENO5H0/VM5-ee3lwEI/AAAAAAAAe1s/Mw819wun58M/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B04.jpg" height="430" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QMrQcr82X8c/VM5-eTnfcHI/AAAAAAAAe1w/edun9h55TV8/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QMrQcr82X8c/VM5-eTnfcHI/AAAAAAAAe1w/edun9h55TV8/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B05.jpg" height="320" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UldK8_AVtec/VM5-fe5WZkI/AAAAAAAAe2M/9uo72H_K1jE/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UldK8_AVtec/VM5-fe5WZkI/AAAAAAAAe2M/9uo72H_K1jE/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B06.jpg" height="408" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1Va8eKTlGg/VM5-e8PuEBI/AAAAAAAAe14/gGpXgALG0eY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1Va8eKTlGg/VM5-e8PuEBI/AAAAAAAAe14/gGpXgALG0eY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B07.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iN0vAeNIFno/VM5-ezCDWtI/AAAAAAAAe18/GYXuQuTFxlA/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iN0vAeNIFno/VM5-ezCDWtI/AAAAAAAAe18/GYXuQuTFxlA/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B08.JPG" height="390" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bJP5T9k8dMs/VM5-fOyL3VI/AAAAAAAAe2E/xNAx33_5byY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bJP5T9k8dMs/VM5-fOyL3VI/AAAAAAAAe2E/xNAx33_5byY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B09.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oHdiYSK1WcI/VM5-fYJI7jI/AAAAAAAAe2I/H4LrZJdqHzY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oHdiYSK1WcI/VM5-fYJI7jI/AAAAAAAAe2I/H4LrZJdqHzY/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B11.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-apMgUl0eapI/VM5-fjhTLrI/AAAAAAAAe2Q/yxxRl91XWQI/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-apMgUl0eapI/VM5-fjhTLrI/AAAAAAAAe2Q/yxxRl91XWQI/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B10.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xaki2gzsPRc/VM5_IHhA8qI/AAAAAAAAe28/dXB8Fbq3ci8/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xaki2gzsPRc/VM5_IHhA8qI/AAAAAAAAe28/dXB8Fbq3ci8/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B12.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nc-Yk69I6oY/VM5_ILQk7yI/AAAAAAAAe24/R7X7PhTnZK8/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nc-Yk69I6oY/VM5_ILQk7yI/AAAAAAAAe24/R7X7PhTnZK8/s1600/Carport%2BDesigns%2B13.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/6ksLDvalzvA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2015/01/carports-vs-garages.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-1441288498882504102015-01-30T11:14:00.000-08:002015-02-01T11:15:46.095-08:001 Bloor nearing Completion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxNW-iqY7fk/VM51FGed47I/AAAAAAAAe1I/uvRKnq3E02U/s1600/1%2BBloor%2C%2BJanuary%2B29th%2B2015%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxNW-iqY7fk/VM51FGed47I/AAAAAAAAe1I/uvRKnq3E02U/s1600/1%2BBloor%2C%2BJanuary%2B29th%2B2015%2B01.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>The photos to the right and further below are of the new building at <b>1 Bloor Street East</b>. The photos were taken around 6:30 PM on January 29th.<br /><br />The condo / hotel / shopping mall / movie theatre / gym / etc will have a plethora of things for people who live in the building to do, or people just visiting the building because of the entertainment venues that will also be available to the residents / hotel guests.<br /><br />The structure is being built in Toronto during a bubble in condo construction, largely fueled by overseas investors and not based on locals buying the condos. This is ever so much true about 1 Bloor, which has been embroiled in scandal and fraud since its inception the property changed hands because the original developers could not commit to building.<br /><br />The prices of the condos in what has been billed as the most desirable condo to live in (in Toronto, and arguably all of Canada) however have been outrageously expensive. People buying a condo there are ridiculously rich compared to the common standards of most Canadians. Think celebrities, oil tycoons, the mafia - and quite a few wealthy foreigners - all in the same building.<br /><br />I think it would funny if the condo bubble in Toronto burst right around the time people finally get to move into the finished building, and condo prices fell about 30% in the space of 1 year. People who bought an expensive condo during the years prior to the bubble bursting will be crying at the potential savings they could have had, and those who bought their condos on a mortgage may run into the problem of trying to refinance their mortgage and being denied by the banks because the value of their condos has changed so dramatically.<br /><br />Accompanied by the drop in prices Toronto will also experience a recession as many construction workers are laid off, which in turn will hurt other industries as the flow of cash in the city will slow dramatically and cause layoffs in those industries. The manufacturing and services sectors will be hurt the most.<br /><br />The real danger of such a recession is whether Vancouver and other cities across Canada also experience a recession around the same time. If it is just localized recession the impact and dip in the economy won't be so deep, but if it effects most of Canada then it will effect many more Canadians.<br /><br />At present, judging by the current slowing of the Canadian economy, combined with the finish dates for many condos in Toronto, I expect the localized recession in Toronto to happen in 2016. If the slowing of the economy hurts other real estate markets across Canada however we may experience a nation wide recession instead.<br /><br />The white blurs you see in the photo below are from snowflakes zooming down past the camera lens.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEhv1Vk1-vA/VM51FA2qtLI/AAAAAAAAe1M/GqOwJepIV1c/s1600/1%2BBloor%2C%2BJanuary%2B29th%2B2015%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEhv1Vk1-vA/VM51FA2qtLI/AAAAAAAAe1M/GqOwJepIV1c/s1600/1%2BBloor%2C%2BJanuary%2B29th%2B2015%2B02.jpg" /></a></div><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/s3ihvV0cw2E" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2015/01/1-bloor-nearing-completion.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-66649893150132070022015-01-30T09:32:00.000-08:002016-05-03T06:40:14.122-07:00Gardening, Roof Repair + Finished Basement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pAqYProT588/VM-4-li_MJI/AAAAAAAAe4Y/F_GfijCBAd0/s1600/Backyard%2BRoses.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pAqYProT588/VM-4-li_MJI/AAAAAAAAe4Y/F_GfijCBAd0/s1600/Backyard%2BRoses.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><b>Gardening</b><br /><br />One of the ways to boost the value of your home is to plant a flower garden - especially roses, as roses are very easy to maintain and quite hardy. Rose bushes really just need to be trimmed once in awhile so they look good, and during the autumn you need to mound the dirt up around their bases to protect their roots more, so they can survive the winter easier. That is pretty much it. Some people also sometimes use powder pesticides on their roses to prevent insects from eating them, but it is not a huge necessity.<br /><br />The other benefits of roses is that you have a constant supply of flowers to decorate your home with... which means prospective buyers coming to your home may see a vase of roses on the kitchen table, immediately bolstering their opinion of the place subconsciously.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HY1LjozyVqc/VM-5QyYSzMI/AAAAAAAAe4g/oOFSfNmeI8o/s1600/Front%2BPorch%2BRoses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HY1LjozyVqc/VM-5QyYSzMI/AAAAAAAAe4g/oOFSfNmeI8o/s1600/Front%2BPorch%2BRoses.jpg" height="580" width="640" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;And because Valentines is almost two weeks away I thought I should include some tips about roses / vases...<br /><br /><b>Tips to Keep Your Roses Fresh in the Vase Longer</b><br /><br />Many people love to give roses and get roses but after a couple of day the roses start to droop or dry out.&nbsp; Shortly after that they wither and die and you have to throw them away.&nbsp; It is such a waste and a sad way for you roses to go.&nbsp; You try everything you can but you just cannot keep your roses as fresh as possible for as long as possible.&nbsp; There are some old wives tales that say use sugar in the vase water, clip the ends every couple of days but do these tips really work?&nbsp; Below are a few tips that may help you keep the roses from your lover a little while longer. (Or prepare a vase for prospective buyers viewing your house.)<br /><br /><b>#1. Sugar in the vase water really does help.</b><br /><br />Sugar can help to keep your roses longer after all.&nbsp; The theory is that sugar simulates the photosynthesis process and makes the flower rejuvenated.&nbsp; You can use regular sugar (for a regular sized vase use about 1 teaspoon).&nbsp; Or you can use leftover soda pop to produce the same effect.&nbsp; Use the clear soda (Sprite or 7 Up) if you have a clear vase.<br /><br /><b>#2. Hairspray?</b><br /><br />Yes, this works. The hairspray locks the moisture in.&nbsp; All you have to do is get your hairspray bottle from your bathroom, grab your bouquet of flowers, hold the hairspray about a few inches away from the flowers and spray them well (make sure you get every section of the flower, but do not saturate them). Don't worry about the stems in the water.<br /><br /><b>#3. A Little Bit of Vodka Never Hurt Anyone</b><br /><br />This works similarly to the sugar.&nbsp; The vodka is meant to prohibit the growth of bacteria which could prematurely weaken the roses.&nbsp; It may be a good idea to use in conjunction with sugar as sugar can cause bacteria to grow.&nbsp; You only need a few drops so do not worry there will be plenty left for you to drink later. In theory anti-bacterial mouth wash would also work.<br /><br /><b>#4. Roofing Tar?</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxs9nZ8NzfA/VM-3TB_PxmI/AAAAAAAAe4M/xFSIOAbA7XI/s1600/Black-Rose-Made-of-Roofing-Tar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxs9nZ8NzfA/VM-3TB_PxmI/AAAAAAAAe4M/xFSIOAbA7XI/s1600/Black-Rose-Made-of-Roofing-Tar.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></div>Wait, what? Roofing tar???<br /><br />This sounds just as crazy as the hairspray idea, but if you want to keep your roses forever, this may be a great choice for you.&nbsp; The roofing tar coats the entire rose and preserves it forever. A million years from now it will be a fossilized rose.<br /><br />What happened was local Torontonian Rob Campbell decided to do an experiment when he decided to make black roses by dipping red roses in <a href="http://www.toughroof.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ToughRoof flat roofing</a> tar. Basically all you would have to do is head to your local roofing guy who deals in flat roofing tar and ask him if he can dip your roses into the leftover roofing tar.&nbsp; Within 3 minutes you should have a fresh set of a dozen roses that will never parish.&nbsp; What a great way to celebrate Valentines with your loved one. (Especially if they are a goth and love black roses...)<br /><br />See also<br /><a href="http://arob12.blog.ca/2015/01/26/matthew-robert-white-s-new-age-valentine-s-day-black-roses-pop-up-retail-expert-in-toronto-20011016/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Valentines Day Black Roses made from roofing tar</a> <br /><a href="http://roberrific.typepad.com/drunkenmoose/2015/01/how-to-make-black-roses-with-flat-roofing-tar-and-treat-roses-with-liquid-waterproofing-membrane.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How to make Black Roses using Roofing Tar</a><br /><br />I am not sure if this would help sell your house, but hey you never know.<br /><br /><b>Roof Repair</b><br /><br />To continue on the vein of the repairing the roof, this is another excellent way of boosting the value of your home. Having a new roof installed (after ripping out the old one), repairing the old roof by adding either new shingles or aluminum can dramatically change the look of your home and give it a fresh look - effectively a face lift for your house.<br /><br />Check the before and after photos below showing what a great difference having your roof repaired makes on the appearance. To say nothing of better insulation and preventing leaks.<br /><br />Or in the case of the photo at the top here, getting rid of a serious mold infestation by simply cleaning the roof.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HV51Zo1K3Yg/VM-6xhooYnI/AAAAAAAAe4s/_jekMN0hsP8/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BRoof%2BRepair%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HV51Zo1K3Yg/VM-6xhooYnI/AAAAAAAAe4s/_jekMN0hsP8/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BRoof%2BRepair%2B01.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Below - New roof plus solar panels.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rVCzS8KUj0U/VM-7EMrhbqI/AAAAAAAAe40/5TEpYuVcPz4/s1600/New%2BRoof%2Bplus%2BSolar%2BPanels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rVCzS8KUj0U/VM-7EMrhbqI/AAAAAAAAe40/5TEpYuVcPz4/s1600/New%2BRoof%2Bplus%2BSolar%2BPanels.jpg" height="238" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Below - A lot less drab looking on the new roof.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oGH9Vv3Ve6o/VM-7e8Ky1oI/AAAAAAAAe48/NlW-9yMCy5c/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BRoof%2BRepair%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oGH9Vv3Ve6o/VM-7e8Ky1oI/AAAAAAAAe48/NlW-9yMCy5c/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BRoof%2BRepair%2B02.jpg" height="204" width="640" /></a></div><br />The big thing these days is to install roofs that are plastic or aluminum and shaped like tiles or shingles.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8po9cIMlTX8/VM-8FNVzyYI/AAAAAAAAe5E/azxhb3TJm88/s1600/Faux%2BTile%2BRoof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8po9cIMlTX8/VM-8FNVzyYI/AAAAAAAAe5E/azxhb3TJm88/s1600/Faux%2BTile%2BRoof.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b>Finished Basement</b><br /><br />The last thing I want to discuss is the concept of making a finished basement. Not just to prevent flooding by having some basement waterproofing done (see the City of <a href="http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=f041ffa6ee33f310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Toronto.ca</a> page about how to prevent basement flooding or visit a website like <a href="http://www.royalwaterproofing.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Royal Basement Waterproofing</a>), but also because when trying to sell your home whether you have a finished basement can be a big selling point. See the before and after photos below to see what I mean.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uh-6lmocTCQ/VM-9z3oy1ZI/AAAAAAAAe5U/rDlzhnxyKCM/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BFinished%2BBasement%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uh-6lmocTCQ/VM-9z3oy1ZI/AAAAAAAAe5U/rDlzhnxyKCM/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BFinished%2BBasement%2B01.jpg" height="234" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YX9FpfBlv1M/VM-9z1dx7lI/AAAAAAAAe5Q/XZj9R3XEcRI/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BFinished%2BBasement%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YX9FpfBlv1M/VM-9z1dx7lI/AAAAAAAAe5Q/XZj9R3XEcRI/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BFinished%2BBasement%2B02.jpg" height="234" width="640" /></a></div><br />Having a finished basement means you can have a living room or recreational room down there. Some people even make their own private bar, or put in a swimming pool, lots of options. Like the basement swimming pool below.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ct_HTpPwyzo/VM--biKGNLI/AAAAAAAAe5g/NIT8vWm2-JY/s1600/Basement%2BSwimming%2BPool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ct_HTpPwyzo/VM--biKGNLI/AAAAAAAAe5g/NIT8vWm2-JY/s1600/Basement%2BSwimming%2BPool.jpg" height="418" width="640" /></a></div><br />At which point you have to say, who wouldn't want a swimming pool in their basement?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/q_QB5dPTDaw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com1http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2015/01/gardening-roof-repair-finished-basement.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-76804249622360192532014-08-11T09:14:00.002-07:002014-08-11T09:14:51.709-07:00Small Treehouse Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nyFNitLSfJk/U-jqlOcGIhI/AAAAAAAAcNg/e4eFYs-hSkY/s1600/Small+Treehouse+Home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nyFNitLSfJk/U-jqlOcGIhI/AAAAAAAAcNg/e4eFYs-hSkY/s1600/Small+Treehouse+Home.jpg" /></a></div>I just like these little treehouse homes.<br /><br />I think they are adorable.<br /><br />If you want to see more <a href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/search/label/Treehouse" target="_blank"><b>treehouses</b></a> like this explore my other website:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.projectgridless.ca/" target="_blank"><b>Project Gridless</b></a><br /><br />I will point however that they will be quite cold and drafty in the Winter.<br /><br />And I would not want to be in there during a windstorm, hurricane or tornado.<br /><br /><i>"Gee Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore."</i><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/RbMb_hzlKqw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2014/08/small-treehouse-home.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-19468109824290305362014-08-10T06:02:00.000-07:002015-02-01T12:05:30.051-08:00September 11th 2001, controlled implosions in the WTC buildings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ROPWqhK4ZnA/VM6Ffxz5kyI/AAAAAAAAe3w/kjFDpx9_gYM/s1600/Controlled%2BImplosion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ROPWqhK4ZnA/VM6Ffxz5kyI/AAAAAAAAe3w/kjFDpx9_gYM/s1600/Controlled%2BImplosion.jpg" height="204" width="640" /></a></div><b>&nbsp; </b><br /><b>Buildings made of steel beams and girders don't fall straight down.</b><br /><br />Not unless there is a controlled explosion causing the load bearing parts of the structure to be removed. The only way for a building to fall straight down is via explosives placed in key structural points in a building. It requires months of planning for a demolition team to take a building down like that.<br /><br />Especially buildings designed to carry incredible loads. The World Trade Centre buildings in NYC were designed to carry weights many times their own, and the steel beams supporting the structure had a melting point far above the burning temperature of jet fuel.<br /><br />Plus the steel beams were covered in a flame retardant, asbestos - which the WTC needed to remove sometime because asbestos causes a variety of health problems including cancer.<br /><br />In other words there was no way that the WTC buildings could collapse straight down, without controlled explosions / implosions at multiple key points in the buildings' structures.<br /><br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CG7I4UnoBnA" width="500"></iframe><br /></center><br />Anyone who is a structural engineer will be able to tell you, there is no way those buildings collapsed like that due to "jet fuel" melting the steel girders. Jet fuel simply is not hot enough. Not even close. Not even half. (Think of it this way, if jet fuel burned hot enough to melt or weaken steel, then airplanes would be crashing all the time as the engines would weaken, melt and fall apart.)<br /><br />Thus the jet fuel certainly cannot cause steel girders further below to collapse due to "added weight" when the structure of the building was designed to carry many times the extra weight.<br /><br />In other words "terrorists" could have crashed 20 planes into the WTC buildings and they still would not have collapsed. The only way to bring a building like that straight down is a demolition team with months of planning and tonnes of explosives.<br /><br />It is a bit like crashing a plane into the Hoover Dam and expecting the dam to break. It won't happen. The Hoover Dam is just too big. It would just be a scratch on the surface.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/o5cbwVBj-VI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2014/08/september-11th-2001-controlled.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-21993140833420859212014-07-07T01:00:00.000-07:002015-01-13T12:39:02.159-08:00Real Estate Advertising and Content Writing in a Digital Age<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zr2LEat2kZo/U-joP2mvGwI/AAAAAAAAcNY/dZJ3_lEPmUk/s1600/Money+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zr2LEat2kZo/U-joP2mvGwI/AAAAAAAAcNY/dZJ3_lEPmUk/s1600/Money+House.jpg" /></a></div>One of the big things these days for real estate agents and brokers is to maintain popular websites - because popular websites brings in extra homebuyers and people looking to sell their existing home.<br /><br />But maintaining a popular real estate website means you need to have a constant flow of new content. Freshly written articles and essays on a variety of real estate topics. Writing articles and <a href="http://www.mastersessay.com/essay.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">essay writing</a> doesn't come easily to everyone, which is why some companies even resort to hiring <a href="http://www.mastersessay.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">essay writing companies</a> and content writing / SEO companies like designSEO.ca or even individuals who have a little or no writing experience.<br /><br />Real estate websites after all are basically just online brochures designed to bring in customers - and the bigger the real estate website, the more content it has, then the more visitors the website will get - and the more homebuyers the website will attract.<br /><br />But back to my 2nd point, many real estate agents have very busy schedules and don't have time to maintain their website.<br /><br />To maintain a popular blog for example you need to be posting at least 80 new posts every year. So to compare that to mysearchforahome.com, I am not fulfilling the 80 posts per year needed to make this blog "popular". Instead the website has been averaging 36 posts per year for the 2010 to 2013 time period, which makes mysearchforahome.com what I would describe as "semi popular".<br /><br />Statistically mysearchforahome.com brought in just under 5,000 visitors in June, and another 5,000 in July. But if I was writing on this blog more often (closer to 80 posts per year) I could be bringing in closer to 12,000 (or more) visitors per month.<br /><br />Which would be approx. 144,000 visitors per year.<br /><br />(Note - The older the website is, the more visitors they can also get too. A website with 80+ posts per year for many years will have significantly more visitors because the older content keeps bringing in new visitors too.)<br /><br />I estimate it takes me roughly 60 to 90 minutes to write a good quality real estate blog post. Averaging roughly 1.25 hours per post. Sometimes it is much shorter, sometimes significantly longer. It really depends on the level of effort and research put into an individual real estate blog post.<br /><br />That means to write 80 posts a year I am spending 100 hours each year working on just that one blog. That is like working two 50 hour weeks, doing nothing but writing blog posts for just 1 blog.<br /><br />(And I should point out I operate over 100 blogs and websites, not just mysearchforahome.com. One of my biggest projects is cardiotrek.ca - which is averaging approx. 177 posts per year for the 2012 to 2014 time period and pulling in approx. 30,000 visitors per month currently. That means each year since its creation I have clocked an average of 220 hours/year blogging for cardiotrek.ca.)<br /><br />And this is my point - <b>quality writing is time consuming</b>.<br /><br />And it is often also creatively draining. A lot of creativity goes into being a writer. To the extent that a person is mentally exhausted by the time they are done writing whatever it is they are writing.<br /><br />In some cases I have even hired content writers to write content for me because I don't have the time to write it - or the topic that needs to be written is too boring that I simply don't want to write it myself, and/or I am too busy doing other work.<br /><br />It makes me realize why sometimes students in university cheat on their essays and hire an essay writing company. Because they're lazy, disinterested and possibly too busy. Most likely it is the first two, as from what I remember of university the slackers / procrastinators were the ones who resorted to essay writing companies to get their assignments done on time.<br /><br />But their academic dishonesty is not the same as someone who is simply overworked and depends to contract out their content writing for their business.<br /><br />A real estate agent who contracts out such writing to a professional content writer is not breaking any rules of ethics. They are simply doing what the market and the situation demands of them - and the demand is for lots of quality content so that their websites rank higher and more often in search engines.<br /><br />Modern real estate advertising has become largely digital. Traditional modes of advertising - newspapers, magazines, billboards, the Yellow Pages are basically all obsolete or becoming obsolete.<br /><br />Today websites - including social media websites like Facebook, YouTube and even Twitter - have different roles to play in attracting new customers to a business.<br /><br />And the more productive a website is - including real estate websites - means the more productive their business will be.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/9N9tQkQrSeE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2014/07/real-estate-advertising-and-content.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956085019482460576.post-74744338204767199772014-05-15T08:44:00.000-07:002015-02-04T08:56:34.040-08:00Vegan Friendly Neighbourhoods in TorontoIf you are a vegan, finding a neighbourhood in Toronto that is more friendly to vegans is really a matter of being closer to amenities.<br /><br />Amenities like:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ee0yU-SZd8w/VNJODDc3bwI/AAAAAAAAe78/8q65i3lB5uI/s1600/Rawlicious%2BVegan%2BRestaurant%2BToronto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ee0yU-SZd8w/VNJODDc3bwI/AAAAAAAAe78/8q65i3lB5uI/s1600/Rawlicious%2BVegan%2BRestaurant%2BToronto.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>Grocery stores that cater to vegans like The Big Carrot, The Sweet Potato, Noah's Natural Foods, etc.<br /><br />Restaurants that cater to vegans like Rawlicious, Fresh, etc.<br /><br />Community gardens.<br /><br />Public parks.<br /><br />In the future there might even be vegan private schools, or possibly even public specialty schools catering to vegans (Toronto has a lot of specialty schools).<br /><br />And in the words of an acquaintance who was a vegetarian for 11 years "Well considering vegans are often affluent white people they would probably also want yoga centres, spiritual centres like a Hare Krishna Temple nearby, an electric car charging station, or a BIXI bicycle station..."<br /><br />"Veganism is the prerogative of affluent people who have the time and money to spend on the time consuming processes of buying fresh vegetables all the time, preparing the food and so forth. In contrast poor people are often eating processed foods, overweight and have to eat whatever is handy because they have less time and money available."<br /><br />So lets take for example the neighbourhood of <b>High Park North / Roncesvalles</b> area - or as I like to call it "<b>The Vegan Village</b>".<br /><br />High Park North / Roncesvalles is a hub for vegans, vegan restaurants, vegan friendly grocery stores, etc.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MucnIV4yT4/VNJNfPAjb-I/AAAAAAAAe70/NorJd0gUxFo/s1600/The%2BVegan%2BVillage%2BToronto%2BMap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MucnIV4yT4/VNJNfPAjb-I/AAAAAAAAe70/NorJd0gUxFo/s1600/The%2BVegan%2BVillage%2BToronto%2BMap.png" height="396" width="640" /></a></div><br />Restaurants / grocery stores in the Vegan Village include:<br /><br />Rawlicious<br />Lunch Box<br />Soup n' Such Cafe<br />Bunner's Bake Shop<br />The Sweet Potato<br />The Best Organic Cafe + Market<br />Magic Oven<br />Gourmet Vegan Pizza <br />The Thai Cuisine<br />Mersin Mediterranean Cuisine<br />Foods For Life<br />Max's Market<br />Cafe Novo<br />Pho Huong<br /><br />There is also the Hogtown Vegan further east of the Vegan Village. So regardless of whether you are looking for a <a href="http://www.rawlicious.ca/" target="_blank">raw vegan restaurant</a> or a <a href="http://www.magicoven.com/mainindex.html" target="_blank">vegan organic pizza parlour</a> then living in the Vegan Village has you covered.<br /><br />And those are just the places I could find listed online. Plenty more of those of you hang out in the neighbourhood and discover the many other places there which cater to vegans. The Vegan Village will likely be the site of a future vegan school.<br /><br />If you are looking for a new place to live you can <a href="http://www.royallepage.ca/en/on/toronto/high-park-north/properties" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">browse homes / apartments in High Park North</a> on the Royal LePage website. Same goes if you want to <a href="http://www.royallepage.ca/en/on/toronto/roncesvalles-village/properties" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">browse homes / apartments in Roncesvalles</a>.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MySearchForAHome/~4/N4eFr1MhDtY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10466716759836529168noreply@blogger.com0http://www.mysearchforahome.com/2014/05/vegan-friendly-neighbourhoods-in-toronto.html